U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Rapid-Deployment Data-Collection Networks for Wildland Fire 

Applications

—By Ralph W. Teller, U.S. Geological Survey; Monte L. Williams, U.S. Forest Service; Teresa S. Murphy, National 

Weather Service; and Pam Buck, Pennington County Emergency Management, South Dakota

Introduction

Rapid-deployment data-collection 

networks were developed for wildland fire applications like the Missionary Ridge Fire. The Missionary 

Ridge Fire began June 9, 2002, near 

Durango, Colorado. An Interagency 

Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) Team arrived in 

Durango, Colorado, to assess the fire. 

At that time, the fire had burned over 

70,000 acres and was still actively 

burning. The fire was contained on 

July 14, after consuming 73,400 

acres. The team was charged with 

assessing the potential postfire 

effects on health and safety, and risks 

to property and natural resources. 

From this assessment, the team 

would prescribe treatments on 

Federal lands to reduce damage to 

the values at risk from the burned 

watersheds. The team found that 

human life was at risk early in their 

assessment.

The fire originated near the town 

of Durango and intensely burned the 

steep watersheds above the east side 

of town. From there, the fire moved 

in a northeasterly direction and 

burned areas around Vallecito and 

Lemon Reservoirs. Both of the reservoirs are municipal water supplies. 

Many homes and roads are located 

below burned watersheds and in the 

direct path of predicted flood and 

debris-flow areas (fig. 1). The BAER 

team calculated that relatively small 

amounts of rainfall could cause flood 

and debris-flow events that could 

damage property and threaten life. 

Compounding this situation was the 

potential for increased precipitation 

due to the monsoon season, which 

began near the end of the fire. The 

air-flow pattern in the monsoon 

season produces frequent intense 

thunderstorms in the southwest 

United States during July and 

August. Under burned conditions, 

normally inconsequential rainfall 

amounts can and do produce severely 

damaging floods. In addition, these 

floods frequently carry large quantities of fire debris and suspended 

sediments, which can approach 

debris-flow proportions. The combination of burned watersheds and 

potential monsoonal thunderstorms 

placed human life at immediate risk. 

Improving the accuracy of storm 

forecasting to aid in flood and debrisflow warnings was needed quickly.

The critical elements in improving 

forecasting and warnings are realtime or near real-time precipitation 

and flow data for the burned areas. 

These data provide necessary information to calibrate (ground truth) 

predictive-model and Doppler-radar 

estimations to real conditions. The 

USGS Fact Sheet FS-036–03

May 2003

Figure 1. Mudslides occurred on August 4, 2002, after precipitation fell in the burned area 

of the Missionary Ridge Fire. 
data also provide information of 

areal conditions to emergency 

management personnel and others 

requiring flow information, such as 

domestic water-system operators and 

reservoir managers.

Missionary Ridge Accomplishments

Realizing the potential hazards, 

the BAER team submitted a request 

to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for 

financial support to install a satellitetelemetered rapid-deployment datacollection network and received 

USFS approval the same day. On that 

same day, the BAER team requested 

assistance from the U.S. Geological 

Survey (USGS), which operates and 

maintains similar types of datacollection networks for the northern 

Black Hills area near Rapid City, 

South Dakota. Within 7 days of the 

start of the BAER team's investigation (day 7), the network was 

designed and funded, and sites were 

cleared for installation of 12 precipitation gages. On day 8, the first gage 

was installed and transmitting data, 

and by day 17 all the gages were 

installed and operating. The National 

Weather Service (NWS) was able to 

use the data in flood forecasting by 

day 14. 

Rapid-Deployment Networks

The rapid-deployment networks 

described here are networks of precipitation or flow gages prescribed 

and funded under BAER authority to 

reduce risk to public safety and 

health from flooding and associated 

phenomena originating on public 

lands administered by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

(USDI). Current policy allows for 

USDA and USDI funding network 

installation and up to 3 years of operation and maintenance. On the 

Missionary Ridge Fire, the USFS 

provided the funding and directed 

fire rehabilitation activities, including the installation of hydrologic 

data-collection networks. Generally 

funding is approved when government agencies other than USDA or 

USDI agree to receive, interpret, and 

act upon the data gathered by the network. 

 As indicated in table 1, there are 

four primary steps used in operational models for a rapid-deployment 

network: funding, network installation/operation, issuance of watch or 

warning, and emergency response. 

Installation and maintenance of datacollection equipment have been performed internally by the USDA and 

USDI land-management agencies 

and by the USGS and other agencies. 

The USGS was selected by the 

Missionary Ridge BAER team 

because the USGS has experience 

with this type of network, has the 

ability to install the equipment 

quickly, and has an established relationship with the NWS. The USGS 

installed the data-collection network, operates and maintains the network, and provides the data to the 

users by satellite transmissions. 

USDA and USDI land-management agencies with BAER authority 

have little or no expertise in flood 

forecasting and no authority to issue 

or carry out flood warnings or evacuations. The USGS has a similar 

Table 1. Operational models for selected BAER Rapid-Deployment Networks

[USFS, U.S. Forest Service; USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; BLM, Bureau of Land Management; 

NWS, National Weather Service] 

Fire name Funding

agency

Network

operation

Watch/

warning

issuance

Emergency response

Missionary Ridge USFS USGS NWS La Plata County, Colorado

Grizzly Gulch BLM USGS NWS Lawrence County, South Dakota

Battle Creek USFS USGS NWS Pennington County, South Dakota

Figure 2. Mudslides occurred on August 8, 2002, in Deadwood, South Dakota, after 

precipitation fell in the burned area of the Grizzly Gulch Fire.
policy and will enter into an agreement to install and maintain equipment only when other agencies have 

agreed to provide the 24-hour monitoring and take emergency action 

based on the data. The NWS and La 

Plata County Office of Emergency 

Preparedness agreed to these roles 

for the Missionary Ridge Fire. The 

NWS interprets the data and formulates hazard watches and warnings as 

required. The Office of Emergency 

Preparedness provides assignment of 

emergency response resources and 

coordinates response activities. Each 

party continues operating in their 

respective mission-specific roles. 

Butch Knowlton, La Plata County 

Emergency Manager, commented, 

“The network has been invaluable to 

emergency service personnel. By 

monitoring the network they know 

when and where to effectively commit manpower and resources. Information from the network assists 

water-system operators in determining basins affected by runoff allowing them time to close critical 

intakes. Even road crews and contract personnel monitor the system 

for safety. We don't know how we 

could have handled this situation 

without it.”

A similar operational model to the 

model described for the Missionary 

Ridge Fire has been in use for almost 

7 years in the Rapid Creek drainage 

above Rapid City, South Dakota, and 

recently (2002) similar models have 

been used following the Grizzly 

Gulch and Battle Creek Fires in 

South Dakota (table 1). The rapiddeployment network has been effective in providing warning to residents 

of Deadwood, South Dakota, where 

mudslides have resulted from precipitation in the burned areas of the 

Grizzly Gulch Fire (fig. 2).

Network Components

Rapid-deployment data-collection 

networks, such as the one installed at 

Missionary Ridge, are comprised of 

a series of field sensors, GOES/

DOMSAT satellite transmitters, 

ground-readout delivery systems, 

and solar-power modules.

 Examples of equipment used in 

the satellite-telemetered earlywarning networks for the Missionary Ridge, Grizzly Gulch, and Battle 

Creek Fires are shown in figure 3 in 

burned areas. The field sensors collect data for a variety of hydrologic 

measurements selected by the BAER 

team to meet specific needs. Precipitation and stream stage are the most 

frequently acquired measurements, 

but other water-quality and quantity 

data can be collected. The data from 

the sensors are processed in a field 

data-collection platform (DCP) and 

transmitted to the GOES weather 

satellite. The processed GOES data 

are transmitted for local use to 

ground-readout stations by way of 

the DOMSAT satellite. The steps 

involved to deploy a network of this 

type are as follows:

1. Field sensor packages must be 

assembled according to the data 

needs of the BAER team and 

deployed at specified locations;

2. Satellite window assignments 

must be made at National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) for each field 

sensor station for data acquisition 

and delivery;

3. Data decoding must be completed for interpretation of the satellite data;

4. Responsibility for data monitoring and network maintenance must 

be assigned to the various support 

and interpretive personnel and agencies; and

5. Protocols defining required 

actions for specific data users must 

be developed based on data interpretation (watches, warnings, emergency response).

The hydrologic data-collection 

network developed for BAER applications is a satellite-telemetered precipitation- and stage-gage network. 

The precipitation-gage network is 

designed to record precipitation over 

the burned area in near-real time. 

Where feasible, the network is laid 

out in a pattern that will facilitate 

tracking the path of storms across 

A. Precipitation gage (instrument detail) 

used in burned area at Missionary Ridge 

Complex Fire. 

B. Precipitation gage used in burned area 

at Grizzly Gulch Fire.

C. Precipitation gage used in burned area 

at Battle Creek Fire.

Figure 3. Examples of equipment used in 

rapid-deployment networks in burned areas 

at the Missionary Ridge, Grizzly Gulch, and 

Battle Creek Fires.
the burned area, helping NWS forecasters determine storm movement. 

Each precipitation gage is connected 

to a DCP where the data are processed and logged. Under normal 

conditions, the DCP will accumulate 

data at a set sample rate (1 minute, 

15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.) and 

transmit the accumulated data every 

4 hours to the satellite. High datarate transmitters that are now available are programmed to transmit 

DCP data hourly. Threshold limits 

are programmed into the DCP that, 

when exceeded, initiate an immediate “forced-random” transmission. 

These forced-random transmissions 

are used to deliver near-real time data 

to the user. This allows the user to 

assess field information within a 

matter of minutes. Data collected in 

this manner can provide near-real 

time assessment of precipitation and 

ground-truth data for live Doppler 

radar. If precipitation gages are coupled with stage gages, streamflow 

also can be monitored. In order to 

meet special circumstances, additional data measurements can be 

collected, such as air and water 

temperature, pH, specific conductance, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen as specified. Data transmitted 

from the site to the GOES weather 

satellite are processed and distributed 

by the DOMSAT satellite to local 

ground-readout stations. The NWS 

and the USGS use separate datacollection networks, which provides 

redundancy for the system. Each 

gage is independently solar powered, 

making remote installations feasible. 

The satellite-telemetered network is 

uniquely suited for mountainous terrain unlike radio-based systems that 

require line-of-site transmission.

Thoughts for the Future

Based on experiences of establishing rapid-deployment networks in 

the aftermath of the Missionary 

Ridge, Grizzly Gulch, and Battle 

Creek Fires, a number of changes to 

past practices could be implemented 

in future situations that would standardize funding procedures, secure 

stocks of instrumentation, reserve 

satellite window assignments, and 

define working agreements and 

responsibilities. 

• Although the fire-funding procedures for both USFS BAER team 

and Interagency BAER team 

activities facilitate funding transfers from USDA and USDI agencies to intra-departmental 

agencies, standardized billing 

and accounting would help speed 

the initial processes of fieldnetwork implementation. If an 

agreement could be developed so 

that a verbal acknowledgment or 

similar predefined action by the 

participating agencies would permit immediate commitment of 

materials and labor to network 

installation, considerable time 

could be saved in these “emergency response” situations.

• A reserved stock of instrumentation specifically for BAER's firescience support is needed. The 

instrumentation stocks could be 

maintained under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as 

a contract with one agency. This 

would help assure standardization of instrumentation, maintenance of stockpiles, and 

updating/upgrading of instrumentation as necessary. The 

Hydrologic Instrumentation 

Facility (HIF) of the USGS is an 

example of the warehouse capability required for this function. 

HIF currently stocks all required 

instrumentation and has in-house 

test and repair facilities.

• Satellite window assignments 

could be reserved and maintained by one or all participating 

agencies. There may even be an 

advantage to maintaining the 

windows on a multi-agency 

basis, so that no undue operational burden would be put on an 

individual agency occupying a 

large block of dedicated windows. 

• An ongoing MOU could be 

developed between the participating agencies so that all parties 

have clearly defined responsibilities and areas of operation. This 

MOU could be designed so that 

the partners can fulfill their roles 

in the network's operation while 

remaining mission specific to 

their parent agency. For example, 

the partnership created for the 

Missionary Ridge fire consisted 

of the USFS, USGS, NWS, and 

the La Plata County Office of 

Emergency Preparedness and 

proved successful. 

For more information, please

contact:

District Chief

U.S. Geological Survey

1608 Mt. View Road

Rapid City, SD 57702

(605)355-4560

or visit the USGS Web site at:

http://sd.water.usgs.gov