Pacific Southwest

Title: Computer evaluation of existing and proposed fire lookouts

Author: Mees, Romain M.

Date: 1976

Source: General Technical Report PSW-019. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 6 p

Station ID: GTR-PSW-019

Description: A computer simulation model has been developed for evaluating the fire detection capabilities of existing and proposed lookout stations. The model uses coordinate location of fires and lookouts, tower elevation, and topographic data to judge location of stations, and to determine where a fire can be seen. The model was tested by comparing it with manual detection on a National Forest in California. By using this simulation technique, planners can rank lookouts on a common objective basis, and will be able to plan more efficient flight routes into unseen areas of a lookout for detecting fires by aircraft.

Keywords: Lookout stations, fire management, simulation, computer programs

View and Print this Publication (316 KB)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
• You may send email to pubrequest@fs.f ed.us to request a hard copy of this publication. (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Mees, Romain M.   1976.  Computer evaluation of existing and proposed fire lookouts.   General Technical Report PSW-019. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 6 p.