Deputy Secretary Bodman To Tour Wildfires While in Colorado

"The situation in Colorado, as well as Arizona, is overwhelming, and my thoughts are with those whose lives have been so severely disrupted," said Bodman. "As the president has said, the entire country is pulling for the brave people confronting this terrible situation, and the government is committed to doing everything possible to help. We at the Department of Commerce are proud to contribute through the ongoing efforts of NOAA."

NOAA's Satellite Service is giving fire managers and state officials high resolution information on fire locations that cut through the smoke and haze via the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) systems. These NOAA images track the progress and movement of the fires and assist in formulating operational planning.

To provide comprehensive assessment of conditions in the area, NOAA Weather Service provides up-to-the minute forecasting of precipitation, surface temperatures, and wind direction and speed from certified "incident meteorologists" (IMETs) located on-site in the incident command center or into the wild fire area to collect data. NOAA Weather Service's 51 certified IMETs have been dispatched a total of 55 times this year to support the firefight on 46 separate fires.

While in Colorado, Bodman also is touring the Boulder facilities of three Commerce Department bureaus: NOAA, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Each bureau functions under the auspices of the Department of Commerce, to which Deputy Secretary Bodman serves as it's second-ranking official.

For the latest local NOAA National Weather Service fire weather forecasts, please visit http://www.boi.noaa.gov/firewx.htm.

For more on Deputy Secretary Bodman, please visit http://osecnt13.osec.doc.gov/public.nsf/docs/about-the-deputy-secretary.