The first events that demanded SPOT Image Corp.’s quick reaction and attention were the numerous wildfires in the Sierra Madre, Calif., area and an earthquake in Mogul, Nevada. The fires threatened homes and schools which mandated evacuation of over 1000 residents from about 400 homes. One SPOT 60-x-60 km satellite image covered the entire area affected by the fires, and all three SPOT satellites (SPOT 2, 4 and 5) were tasked to assure quick collections of imagery and insight into the changing landscape during the event. SPOT satellites were tasked, and imagery was acquired within 48 hours of the order being placed by our customers. The fire burned 584 acres before it was fully contained on 2 May 2008. Just a week later, all public parks and facilities were open once again.
As the wildfires continued in Sierra Madre, SPOT Image was informed of the need to collect imagery over the site of the Mogul, Nevada earthquake. Once again, SPOT Image collected imagery with all three SPOT satellites to support this effort. The quake caused rockslides that destroyed a major aqueduct in the area called the Highland Ditch flume and caused minor structural damage to residential and commercial buildings.
Also in late April, tornado activity in the Suffolk, Virginia, area resulted in over 200 injuries and wide-spread destruction of infrastructure. The damage was severe enough for SPOT Image customers to request imagery support from the SPOT constellation of satellites. SPOT Image identified four sites where tornadoes touched down, provided the customer with an area of interest outlining the path and captured all customer requests in one SPOT image. The area was captured by both SPOT 2 and SPOT 5 satellites in the days immediately following the event.
Tornadoes also touched down in Arkansas in May. The tornadoes that struck Arkansas required an image collection plan that included four images over tornado touchdown sites as well as another large area that required a total of ten images. Image collections for some of these areas are ongoing at the time of this article.
Mid-May’s wildfires in various areas of Florida and Santa Cruz, Calif., represent the month’s final disaster response activities. Three separate fires in Florida were identified by SPOT Image and proposed as targets to a customer prior to activating the SPOT satellite suite. SPOT 4 collected images of all three areas of interest the day following notification of the customer’s need. The Santa Cruz fire area was captured in one Spot image two days following customer’s request.
The same storm that caused such devastation in Virginia’s southern coastal areas moved up the east coast and caused a great deal of damage in New Brunswick, Canada and northern Maine. SPOT Image customers had an immediate need for imagery to respond to the widespread flooding. President Bush declared Maine’s Aroostook County a federal disaster area due to the unprecedented flooding that damaged over 400 homes, caused more than 1000 people to be relocated, and damaged numerous bridges and roads. Again, SPOT Image supported the disaster response effort with imagery from SPOTs 2 and 5.
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