394
June 2016
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING
& REMOTE SENSING
J
ournal
S
taff
Publisher Dr. Michael Hauck
Editor Alper Yilmaz
Technical Editor Michael S. Renslow
Assistant Editor Jie Shan
Assistant Director — Publications Rae Kelley
Electronic Publications Manager/Graphic Artist Matthew Austin
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
is the official journal
of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. It is
devoted to the exchange of ideas and information about the applications of
photogrammetry, remote sensing, and geographic information systems. The
technical activities of the Society are conducted through the following Technical
Divisions: Geographic Information Systems, Photogrammetric Applications,
Lidar, Primary Data Acquisition, Professional Practice, and Remote Sensing
Applications. Additional information on the functioning of the Technical
Divisions and the Society can be found in the Yearbook issue of
PE&RS
.
Correspondence relating to all business and editorial matters pertaining to
this and other Society publications should be directed to the American Society
for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 210,
Bethesda, Maryland 20814-2144, including inquiries, memberships, sub-
scriptions, changes in address, manuscripts for publication, advertising, back
issues, and publications. The telephone number of the Society Headquarters is
301-493-0290; the fax number is 301-493-0208; web address is
PE&RS
.
PE&RS
(ISSN0099-1112) is published monthly by the American So-
ciety for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite
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COPYRIGHT 2016
. Copyright by the American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing. Reproduction of this issue or any part thereof (except
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As of May 15
th
, the wildfire that hit the city of Fort McMurray (Alberta, Canada) in early
May 2016 had forced the evacuation of some 90,000 inhabitants, and destroyed many
buildings and homes. The wildfire, a combination of 15 different fires, was estimated
to cover 250,000 hectares and remained out of control. There were 2,277 firefighters,
147 helicopters, 280 pieces of heavy equipment, and 29 air tankers battling the fires at
the time. Fort McMurray, Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates, and Fort McMurray First Nation
were under a mandatory evacuation order. There was no public access to the city and
travel into Fort McMurray was restricted to emergency response and essential services
only.
In mid April, two-weeks before the fires started, Albertans were being asked to use
caution when recreating within the Forest Protection Area, located for a large part in the
northern half of the province, where Fort McMurray is located. The province was expe-
riencing warmer temperatures than usual and receding snow, along with dry grasses
and vegetation, but fire hazard was deemed low. At that time, and since the beginning
of April, the province of Alberta had recorded 99 wildfires with a total of 130 hectares
being burned.
On May 1
st
, a local state of emergency was declared just south of Fort McMurray,
and by May 3
rd
, mandatory evacuation order was in effect for 12 neighborhoods within
Fort McMurray and the nearby communities of
, and
was put under evacuation order on May 4
th
.
As the fire broke out and quickly grew out of proportion, Effigis Geo Solutions posted
a few high resolution satellite images on its website to make it available to the media
and general public. Satellite images are highly useful tools when dealing with natural
disasters (forest fires, floods, earthquakes), as well as for natural resources manage-
ment or monitoring climate change and urban sprawl.
On the front page, a Landsat-7 satellite image (NASA, USGS) from May 4, 2016
shows the coverage of the fire only a few days after it started. Its extent and the location
of hot spots are clearly visible. The small insert shows a portion of North Abasand, one
of the most damaged areas within Fort McMurray.
The two before/after satellite images above illustrate the River View Heights neigh-
borhood. The “before” image on the top is from May 19, 2015. The “after” image, on
the bottom, shows the same area devastated by the fire. Only a few houses are still
standing.
