A retrospective analysis of the 2013 California Rim fire showed the potential of the upcoming GOES-EFD version 1.0 to reduce detection latency. The first subtle signal from the fire was “noticed” by GOES-EFD in the 14:11 image (GMT-8h), with the second, confirmed detection at 14:15, which is 15 minutes before WF-ABBA and also about 15 minutes before it was first reported by traditional means. Note that prior to 14:22, neither temporal history of the thermal radiance nor spatial context in the image chips provides visual clues about the ignition.
Additional minutes afforded by earlier detection often make initial response more effective, reducing risk of costly catastrophic wildfire.
