The Ralston fire is just about contained and this technology has helped considerably.
An excerpt.
Eye in the skyHigh-tech chopper aids firefighters
By: Penne Usher, Journal Staff Writer Thursday, September 14, 2006 11:41 PM PDT
FORESTHILL - As the Ralston Fire nears 70 percent containment, fire officials have called in the big guns in the form of a Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopter retrofitted with heat-seeking laser technology.
The red and white Cobra, named "Firewatch," was being used for the first time in the Tahoe National Forest Thursday and is one of only two of its kind in the nation.
The decommissioned military aircraft uses a forward-looking infrared thermal imager with geo-pointing and geo-location capabilities to aid fire-suppression efforts from the air in low-visibility conditions.
The Ralston Fire has been burning since Sept. 5 in steep and rocky terrain in the Tahoe and El Dorado national forests.
To date more than 8,365 acres have been consumed in the blaze.
