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Airtankers are commonly used for initial attack (IA) to reduce the likelihood of wildland fires escaping containment efforts. We examined IA airtanker dispatch decisions for forest fires in Ontario, Canada, through an analysis of historical fire records from 2001 to 2019. A hurdle modelling approach that predicts the probability of airtanker(s) being dispatched and then the number of airtankers sent was used. Two different hurdle models were considered depending on the timing of the information available to the decision maker: a 'fire report model' based upon the information available when a fire is first reported, and an 'initial attack model' using information available at the time IA action began. Both models indicated that the most influential covariates for airtanker dispatch are the fire weather index, fuel volatility, observed fire rate of spread, fire size at IA, and cause of ignition. When evaluating the predictive ability of the models on a validation data set, the 'initial attack model' performed better than the 'fire report model'. Our models generally perform well when predicting none, one, or two airtankers on IA, but they generally underpredict when more than two airtankers are dispatched, which suggests risk-averse decisionmaking in fire management resource dispatching. Key words: aerial suppression, air attack, fire management, fire suppression, hurdle model, fire weather indices, 1. Introduction Forest fires are a natural ecological process, which provide many benefits to forest health. The ecological role of fire is encouraged on the landscape through managed fire in [...]

Fire seasons have become increasingly variable and extreme due to changing climatological, ecological, and social conditions. Earth observation data are critical for monitoring fires and their impacts. Herein, we present a whole‐system framework for identifying and synthesizing fire monitoring objectives and data needs throughout the life cycle of a fire event. The four stages of fire monitoring using Earth observation data include the following: (1) pre‐fire vegetation inventories, (2) active‐fire monitoring, (3) post‐fire assessment, and (4) multi‐scale synthesis. We identify the challenges and opportunities associated with current approaches to fire monitoring, highlighting four case studies from North American boreal, montane, and grassland ecosystems. While the case studies are localized to these ecosystems and regional contexts, they provide insights for others experiencing similar monitoring challenges worldwide. The field of remote sensing is experiencing a rapid proliferation of new data sources, providing observations that can inform all aspects of our fire monitoring framework; however, significant challenges for meeting fire monitoring objectives remain. We identify future opportunities for data sharing and rapid co‐development of information products using cloud computing that benefits from open‐access Earth observation and other geospatial data layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades detection and monitoring of forest and other wildland fires has relied heavily on aircraft (and satellites). Technical advances and improved affordability of both sensors and sensor platforms promise to revolutionize the way aircraft detect, monitor and help suppress wildfires. Sensor systems like hyperspectral cameras, image intensifiers and thermal cameras that have previously been limited in use due to cost or technology considerations are now becoming widely available and affordable. Similarly, new airborne sensor platforms, particularly small, unmanned aircraft or drones, are enabling new applications for airborne fire sensing. In this review we outline the state of the art in direct, semi-automated and automated fire detection from both manned and unmanned aerial platforms. We discuss the operational constraints and opportunities provided by these sensor systems including a discussion of the objective evaluation of these systems in a realistic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dysfibrinogen gammaR275C can be a clinically silent mutation, with only two out of 17 cases in the literature reporting a hemorrhagic presentation and four cases reporting a thrombotic presentation. We describe here a particularly severe presentation in 54-year-old female patient who required a hysterectomy at 47 years of age due to heavy menstrual bleeding. Coagulation studies revealed a prolonged prothrombin time and thrombin time, a normal fibrinogen antigen level, and a low fibrinogen activity level. Molecular analysis of the patient's DNA revealed a gamma chain gene mutation resulting in an amino acid substitution at residue 275 (gammaR275C). Protein sequencing of the fibrinogen gamma chain confirmed this mutation, which was named Fibrinogen Portland I. This case demonstrates that the gammaR275C mutation can lead to a severe hemorrhagic phenotype.