Understanding special needs of the community often results from reporting critical information on large-scale events. We have received many requests from people who want to know if there is a way to see if their property is affected by the Waldo Canyon fire. The answer is a resounding yes. Last year during the Crystal Mountain fire west of Loveland Colorado, I suggested to the US Forest Service that Google Earth files could be easily created to advise and inform the public. This has now become a standard part of their protocol, but we need to close the loop with the public. The following image is a link to the KMZ file of the Waldo Canyon fire. Download it and read the article following the image to understand how to use it for a 3D exploration of the entire fire or your specific property in this area.
Click image to download 6-23-2012 Waldo Canyon KMZ file for Google Earth. Photo courtesy of Google Earth, KMZ file courtesy National Infrared Operations (NIROPS)
Once you have downloaded the file, your system may automatically associate the file type with a Google Earth plug-in installed in your browser. If not, save the file to a location you can easily remember, and then run Google Earth. Select File-Open and browse to the location you saved the file. Google Earth will automatically “fly” you to a position hovering over the Waldo Canyon fire boundaries. Us this link to acquire Google Earth if you do not have it already installed: Google Earth Download – Courtesy Black ice Geospatial LLC
This will also address the needs of property owners and families wanting to know if the fire is near or has already burnt in the area of their property. By entering the address of any property into the Fly To field, Google Earth will provide a birds-eye view of the property you wish to see. Remember, this is not a static map, it is a 3D dynamic presentation. Be sure to use the Navigation console to Zoom In, change Eye Angle and Direction of View and pan to any desired point.
Please write us and suggest areas you would like to explore and what you would like to know about them. Check Black Ice Geospatial for many more Google Earth 3D developments and links to views that help you Visualize Unseen Information©.
Can we get an updated KMZ? It appears this was generated on 6/23 at 2307. I would take a shapefile too if easier. My folks are living about 4 miles from this.
Thanks.
Hi Eric, thank you for the reminder to check for this data. Here is what you need: Waldo Canyon Fire – Google Earth file 6/24/2012. The fire incident versions for Google Earth are very high quality, but they are not currently available, so we made our own! It is truly a great way to visualize the unseen information available for this serious fire. We have family and friends in the Colorado Springs and Woodland Park area, so we are watching this fire very closely.
This is a valuable resource. Thank you.
Try this:
http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?lat=38.886&lon=-104.948&zoom=13
Click on “Fire” in the right-hand panel.
That is a very nice link, Paul. Thank you. I like that you can turn on a rough outline of the smoke plume and other meteorological features. I have access to MODIS smoke plume data that is probably the source that Wunderground uses, I will investigate a modality to utilize layers with this type of visualization.
Thanks, Paul. My family was evacuated from the Rockrimmon area yesterday. I live in Oregon so can only see what’s really going on via sites like this.