http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/2385/12142/
Laboratory-Developed Military Technology Put to Use
Incident: Las Conchas Wildfire
Released: 40 min. ago
News Release Noon
News Media Information: 505-820-1226
NR#28
Laboratory-Developed Military Technology Put to Use for Las Conchas
Fire Evacuees
LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico July 1, 2011
Los Alamos National Laboratory and a New Mexico aerial technology firm
on Thursday deployed a cutting-edge surveillance system�normally used
to help U.S. conventional military forces in combat for a peaceful
purpose: helping Las Conchas fire evacuees see an up-to-date view of
their homes. A higher resolution version of the system, known as Angel
Fire, was developed by LANL and the Air Force Research Laboratory for
the Department of Defense. It's described as a surveillance camera for
a city-sized area, complete with instant replay and the ability to
zoom in to see, for example, someone planting an improvised explosive
device. But over Los Alamos, the system is providing snapshots in time
viewable over a Web site. "This is like Google Earth, except it's a
Google Earth image from today," said William Rees, LANL's principal
associate director for Global Security. "Our evacuees can access the
image and see their homes, or their favorite hiking areas, or the
burned areas, on images just a few hours old." "This is yet another
example of a technology developed for global security missions being
used to help everyday people in a very real way," said LANL Director
Charles McMillan. "When I learned we might be able to use it here, I
said 'let's make it happen.'"
The image will allow zooming no closer than a typical Google Earth
picture, but will nonetheless provide a bird's-eye view of tens of
square miles. Transparent Sky LLC, a small, New Mexico business, is
donating the equipment and time for these flights.To access the
images, users should go to http://www.lasconchas.lanl.gov/
Media should call 505-820-1226 for updates and monitor http://www.nmfireinfo.com/
for official fire updates.
About Los Alamos National Laboratory www.lanl.gov
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research
institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national
security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team
composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The
Babcock & Wilcox Company, and URS for the Department of Energy's
National Nuclear Security Administration.Los Alamos enhances national
security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear
stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of
mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment,
infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.About Transparent
Sky, LLC Transparent Sky is a small New Mexico firm specializing in
aerial imagery, mapping and airborne surveillance for research and
development. Its founder, Steve Suddarth, PhD, developed Transparent
Sky's wide-area surveillance system while working as a US Strategic
command liaison to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
