Wireless Digital Photography Plays Key Role in Battling Flames in Southern California

This shot from the real-time HPWREN-connected atop Lyons peak was taken and archived on 7:48am on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, during the height of the Harris fire, one of 9 fires that burned more than 350 acres in San Diego County. Additional fires during that week included locations in San Bernardino County, Orange County, Los Angeles County, Sana Barbara County, Riverside County and Ventura County...for a total of approximately 520,000 acres burned. CURRENT information is available at CALFIRE: www.fire.ca.gov Credit: HPWREN, funded by National Science Foundation.

Perched on mountains and bluffs overlooking the greater San Diego area, HPWREN's remote cameras have served as constant eyes in the sky, even as fires engulfed the towers on which they stood, making the situation too hazardous for human observers. These real-time cameras provide CAL FIRE and other local fire crews with a commanding view of fires as they happen, confirming fire situations on remote mountaintops saving valuable time and personnel.

Hans-Werner Braun, director of HPWREN at the University of California, San Diego, whose own family was forced to evacuate, continues to monitor the network's cameras to watch workers extinguish the fire.

"The HPWREN real-time cameras tell us what is happening before engines or chiefs can get there," says CAL FIRE Emergency Command Center Chief Tom Gardner. "They tell us clearly where to go when we are getting swamped with locals calling it in."

Chris Hinshaw, manager of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's wireless communications office, further described the cameras' contributions as "especially helpful as they are set up with a 360-degree view from each site in small thumbnails so you can browse quickly. We were also able to estimate potential damage to our radio site by observing the fire as it moved through the facilities, and observe remedial actions such as fuel deliveries for our generators using the cameras. They are a force multiplier for us."

Resident Blogs Added Fire Information & Informed Neighbors

The Lyon's Peak cameras have been especially useful for people in the Jamul community, who monitored camera footage through their neighborhood blog.

"I've heard from many Jamulians about the cameras, all with basically the same message: the cameras were what kept them sane. They were the only reliable source of information about where the fire was burning," said local resident Tom Dilatus. "It was extremely comforting to see the tiny stationary lights of what we guessed were fire engines stationed along Sierra Cielo and the dirt road to the east of our property as the flames came through last night. At least we knew that the necessary forces had been deployed."

HPWREN Project Prototypes Wide-Area Wireless Network for Disasters

In addition to assisting state and local authorities with wireless networking technologies during emergencies, HPWREN is used for network analysis research and provides high-speed Internet access to field researchers in geophysics, astronomy and ecology as well as educational opportunities for rural Native American learning centers and schools.

For background information about a newly established regional command and control communications network and HPWREN's involvement, visit: hpwren.ucsd.edu/.

HPREN Program Contacts

Related Fire News Websites

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $5.92 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,700 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 42,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 10,000 new funding awards. The NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.