This summer, three new satellites are expected to be launched to serve as the equivalent of fire towers in the sky, Three FireSat satellites are being readied by the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance and its wildfire-detection program, which is satellite-based. The three FireSats have received support from a $26 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund. The initiative also has the support of Google.
The FireSats are expected to monitor for wildfires in critical and sensitive areas at least twice a day, with a special emphasis on the Amazon Basin, which is known to be particularly vulnerable.
The Earth Fire Alliance released a statement saying that it hopes to have more satellites in place to assist with such monitoring so that every point on the planet will be seen every 20 minutes.
