New York launching state-of-the-art system to warn of wildfire danger

Haze is visible in New York City from the Empire State Building observatory on June 7, 2023. Yuki Iwamura/AP

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a new real-time weather data tool to help inform New Yorkers when there is an increased risk of wildfires. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York State Mesonet at the University at Albany are using data from the University at Albany’s statewide weather network to generate daily Fire Danger Ratings to provide more reliable wildfire information and improve public safety.

“We’re seeing the effects of climate change in real time, with dangerous wildfire seasons across the continent year after year,” Hochul said. “We want to make sure the state has the latest tools and information to prepare for and respond to wildfires to ensure our communities and resources are protected.”

The New York State Mesonet is the nation’s most advanced and largest early-warning weather detection system. It features 127 standard weather observation stations that cover the entire state, including at least one in every county and borough. Each site measures temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, pressure, precipitation, solar radiation, snow depth, and soil information, and provides camera images. The data is collected in real time every five minutes, feeding weather prediction models and decision-support tools for users across New York.

DEC’s Wildfire Predictive Services issues and updates a fire danger map that divides New York into multiple Fire Danger Rating Areas and rates each on a wildfire risk scale from low to extreme.

The enhanced data collection helps identify the local variability of fire danger across the state, allowing community leaders, emergency managers, and everyday New Yorkers to adapt their activities to prevent fires and reduce damage. It will be publicly available, offering year-round fire danger ratings and, in conjunction with DEC’s weather forecasts, other fire weather, environmental, and meteorological variables for all Fire Danger Rating Areas in New York.

Fire Danger maps are published simultaneously on both the DEC website and the New York State Mesonet Fire Danger Products webpage.

Similar to the current RAWS system, the New York State Mesonet will provide the national Weather Information Management System, which serves as the host for the National Fire Danger Rating System, with the data necessary to publish regional fire danger rating products.

The public website available through the New York State Mesonet offers current and historic fire weather information, updated daily. The project is funded by DEC through a U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant.