Rapid locating of fire points from Formosat-2 high spatial resolution imagery: Example of the 2007 California wildfire

We report the rapid response of Formosat-2 to locate the fire points in the 2007 California wildfire. After examining the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) image taken and released on 23 October 2007, we used the agility of Formosat-2 to take high spatial resolution images of the wildfire front on its next overpass of the newly burned area. By calculating the local spatial statistics of the near-infrared band, fire points with a scale of a few metres can be accurately identified on the 2-m pan-sharpened Formosat-2 image. The present work suggests that the synergistic operation of MODIS and Formosat-2 would enable the rapid locating of fire points during wildfires.

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