NOAA’s Fire Weather Testbed, the automated satellite fire detection capability of the experimental Next Generation Fire Systemoffsite link (NGFS) has been embraced by the firefighting community and is being increasingly integrated into operations across the country.

The first of two key features of the revolutionary system are the Advanced Baseline Imager, the primary instrument on NOAA’s two GOES geostationary satellites orbiting 22,000 miles above the equator. The second is a set of NGFS algorithms that continuously comb through enormous volumes of data generated by the imager and automatically identifies heat anomalies or hot spots, even through clouds and smoke.

Any new sources of heat are overlaid on surface imagery and geolocated. Then an alert is sent instantly to an online dashboardoffsite link so users can easily visualize the location. Once a fire is detected, the system tracks and records the fire’s spread and intensity. The information is simultaneously available to weather forecasters, fire dispatchers and first responders. Getting firefighters on a fire before it becomes big increases the chances for a successful initial attack.

“NGFS can provide alerts in as little as one minute from the time the energy from the fire reaches the satellite,” said Mike Pavolonis, NOAA Satellites’ Wildland Fire Program manager, who is leading the research and development effort. “I've seen NGFS alerts for fires as small as a quarter acre.”

Real-life proof of concept

During the recent Oklahoma wildfire outbreak, state officials said GOES satellites provided initial detection on 19 separate fires. Of those, preliminary analysis of fire spread modeling found that rapid firefighter response likely saved more than $850 million dollars worth of structures and property. 

“The amount of damage that NGFS helped firefighters prevent during this single outbreak was 250 times greater than the cost of developing this system," Pavolonis said. The total cost of NGFS development was under $3 million. The National Weather Service anticipates that this system will continue to pay dividends and save lives, particularly in areas prone to severe fires where early detection is critical.

Where the new system is already in use

Ninety percent of the National Weather Service's 122 Weather Forecast Offices around the country have subscribed to the NGFS feed since it became available in February. Forecast offices in California, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and North Carolina have used it so far this year.

How NGFS works

The satellites’ stationary positions allows the system to scan new imagery over an area covering multiple states every minute, and generates a fresh image of the entire contiguous U.S. every five minutes.  “Lives can be saved or lost from what you learn in minutes or even seconds,” said Todd Lindley, Science and Operations Officer with the Norman Weather Forecast Office in Oklahoma, which relied on the system during the spring wildfire outbreak. Once a fire is burning, NGFS provides real-time weather and fire monitoring needed by fire incident management teams to keep firefighters safe.

What’s next for NGFS

This week, NGFS undergoing a second evaluation in the Fire Weather Testbed, which is managed by the Global Systems Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. Zach Tolby, the Fire Weather Testbed Manager, said the follow-up visit is designed to evaluate how to best send NGFS fire detections directly to land management partners across the western U.S. During the first test in June 2024, NOAA scientists evaluated routing NGFS detections through NWS offices, which would issue hotspot notifications to partner agencies.

"The rapid adoption of NGFS demonstrates its significant value to meteorologists,” Tolby said. “Now we want to look for ways to optimize the system for wildland fire management in the field."

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