The second Web site—the San Bernardino Joint Information Center Web site was developed by Esri working with several partner agencies including the American Red Cross, California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, California Highway Patrol, California Office of Emergency Services, Caltrans, City of Rancho Cucamonga, City of San Bernardino, Riverside County Transportation Department, San Bernardino County, San Bernardino Fire Department, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Geological Survey.

The Web site was created as the official source for information about active fires in the San Bernardino National Forest. The site primarily focused on the Grand Prix and Old Fires but also provided information on the active fires in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura Counties. The latest closures and evacuations and fire perimeter and online maps, as well as printable maps and satellite images, were provided at the Web site. In addition, information was available on Red Cross shelters, financial assistance, insurance-related information from the state of California, flight restrictions, school closures, public safety, and much more.

Also included in the two Web sites is GeoMAC Wildland Fire Support for fire managers and the MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectoradiometer) Active Fire Mapping Program (activefiremaps.fs.fed.us) for large incident fire maps. The GeoMAC Web site (www.geomac.gov) alone received nearly 1.25 million hits from October 26 through October 31, 2003. GeoMAC is a real-time application that provides geospatial information on the status, location, and proximity of wildfires to life, property, and infrastructure. This visual representation of active fires gives managers a better idea of which fires pose the greatest risk and require immediate fire fighting resources. GeoMAC is supported by a multiagency group with members from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Interagency Fire Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service, Office of Wildland Fire Coordination, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Private corporations, including Esri, ERDAS–Leica, IBM, and Sun Microsystems, provide mapping software applications, computer hardware, and technical expertise to the GeoMAC effort.

Links were also available at the two Web sites to geodata.gov and several other sites to provide state maps and satellite imagery.

The Sheriff's Department took the lead on the law enforcement GIS projects, acting as the coordinating agency for all other police agencies. Within an hour after the Old Fire started, the Sheriff's Department and Esri were generating the first maps for the fire showing the location and the detailed road network for the mountain communities in immediate danger. Such a quick response was possible through the collaborative MAST effort. The Sheriff's Department shared GIS maps and data with fire and other agencies, including the San Bernardino County Emergency Center, California Highway Patrol, and local police agencies. Maps are also being used as part of the arson investigation.

Esri personnel worked on-site to support the Sheriff's Department by plotting maps of various areas affected by the fires. Esri's Database Services Department provided daily fire perimeter shapefiles. Many of the map requests were for specific close-ups of the burned inhabited areas showing streets and parcels. These maps helped provide the Sheriff's Department a continuously updated, accurate understanding of the emergency.

An Incident Command Post was established at the convention center in Big Bear. It was tasked with addressing the possibility that the Old Fire might spread past Lake Arrowhead and toward Big Bear Valley, a heavily populated resort community nestled in the San Bernardino National Forest.

The Operations Group used GIS to create fire progression maps, topographical maps, property maps, and more. Information about the locations of utility infrastructure—such as power lines, towers, and aboveground gas valves—was also incorporated because local utility companies provided CAD data in a format compatible with GIS. These maps were used for a number of decision-support purposes. For instance, GIS was used in the field to capture the locations of fire breaks. At the Incident Command Post, the data was digitally updated in a central GIS database. This allowed the GIS unit to quickly disseminate up-to-date information to the primary Old Fire Incident Command Post, helping track the progress of field units and identify plans for the construction of contingency fire breaks to prevent the fire from entering Big Bear Valley.

"A lot of the information was dynamic, with constant data updates and historical data viewed for various purposes," says Ray Carnes, Esri.

A second group also using the services of the GIS unit was the Information Group, responsible for handling public and media inquiries. Digital and paper fire maps showing fire perimeter, fire progression, fire break, property data, and more helped inform affected communities about what was occurring and helped support the media in their reporting efforts.

A third group consisting of Bureau of Land Management staff used digital 3D maps to make a presentation on Wednesday, November 5, to senior government officials on the latest status of the fire, its containment, and final wildfire plans.

In the aftermath of the contingency planning and with the fire 100 percent contained, the new Big Bear maps were brought back to the primary Incident Command Post for final fire response efforts, reentry operations, and rehabitation work.

"The Southern California wildfires impacted millions of people," says Johnson, "and we at Esri worked closely with incident management teams, emergency responders, and others to help in any way we could. We assisted government agencies with many different types of GIS analysis and mapping services. These efforts helped assess risks, map fire perimeters, allocate resources, evacuate residents, protect property, create contingency plans, and more. With events now over, we're doing what we can to help the recovery efforts."

Esri staff are working on a number of recovery fronts. Staff are currently working with the U.S. Forest Service and San Bernardino County flood control officials to model possible winter mud slides that could result from heavy rains.

"We're working to do what we can to speed up the recovery for those affected by wildfires," says Johnson. "We currently work with a number of agencies, and we will continue to do so for as long as necessary."

Esri gratefully acknowledges data provided by DigitalGlobe, Inc.

For more information, contact Russ Johnson, Esri public safety solutions manager (tel.: 909-793-2853, ext. 1-1836; e-mail: russ_johnson@esri.com).