Rekindles are tragedies that haunt firefighters. The Palisades Fire killed 12 people, destroyed 6,873 structures, and cost roughly $200 billion. Maui’s disaster took 102 lives, burned 2,200 structures, and generated $3.8 billion in insurance claims. The Oakland Hills rekindle caused 25 deaths, destroyed 3,800 homes, and resulted in $5.8 billion in insured losses. Those are the well-known ones. Several of us have personally experienced this trauma after being reassigned, only to have the last fire reignite with devastating consequences to human lives and resources. Modern tech is making these events more preventable, especially when Intel aircraft are routinely utilized.
Heat hides, sometimes through the winter. “Zombie fires” are a known phenomenon in Alaska, Canada, and Siberia, and Northern California has had its share too. New Mexico’s worst fire in history—the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire—came back from a winter burn pile. Ground crews can’t always see hidden heat, even with handheld IR. Aerial scanning is faster, more thorough, and reduces risk.
When the winds subsided and our FireView™ team arrived, houses in the Palisades were still burning daily from hidden heat. Our “search and destroy” mission found and eliminated lingering hotspots that ground crews were not detecting. When our Intel plane was flying overhead, Courtney Aviation’s FireView™ app worked live and interactively with managers and ground crews 24/7, guiding them directly to hotspots invisible to the naked eye.
Gimbals with MWIR (Mid-Wave Infrared) zoom have been invaluable for detecting the smallest heat sources. Now, with Overwatch TK-8 MWIR, we can step-stare scan at the same sensitivity—faster, farther, and while live-streaming everything to the crews below in real time. Overlaid on team fire maps, live FMV (Full Motion Video), thermal heat, and constantly updating fire perimeters are in the hands of the people who count. Simultaneously, our FireView™ app allows boots on the ground to be interactively walked into hidden heat, while managers whiteboard their next moves together.
In 2010, the Forest Service reported a 2-6% rekindle rate while the goal is 1%. At the same time, Portugal reported 17.2%, so everyone has a long way to go. Precision aerial scanning needs to be used consistently on everything from prescribed burns to incidents large or small. Systematic thermal verification of control lines and burn piles will reduce rekindle risk, improve accountability, and preserve suppression investments.