Turning Technology Windward : Weather: Sophisticated new detectors allow the County Fire Department to keep better tabs on its climatic foes, especially Santa Anas and lightning.

On the verge of another season of strong Santa Ana winds that can whip the smallest of brush fires into major blazes covering thousands of acres, the Orange County Fire Department has turned to technology to keep matters under control.

Two new high-tech systems are being used by fire officials to keep tabs on fast-changing weather and wind patterns and lightning strikes--some of the most dangerous elements in starting and contributing to fires across the county.

Officials are hoping that with the aid of this new technology, they will be better prepared to respond to smaller fires that can get out of hand if not brought under control quickly.

In July, the Fire Department spent $14,000 to purchase and install a remote automatic weather station, known by the acronym RAWS, which issues alerts during changes in weather patterns.

The solar-powered, automated mechanism was purchased to help the county with earlier detection of Santa Ana winds. To the delight of county fire officials, the equipment came with a bonus: It is linked to a central computer system in Sacramento--known as ALDS, for automatic lightning detection system--that provides the county with more precise information about lightning strikes.

“We’re now linked to two systems, and it’s giving us all kinds of information,” said Jon Anderson, hazard reduction supervisor for the County Fire Department.

The RAWS system is a futuristic, spindly looking device that uses space-age technology to transmit quick, up-to-the-minute wind, temperature and humidity data that is relayed, via satellite, to computers in Sacramento and eventually to the Fire Department’s dispatch center in Orange.

In buying the equipment, Orange County became the first county in the state to link up with a state-federal computer system that gathers weather information from remote sites. The linkup also entitled Orange County access to ALDS, a federal, multistate program for detecting the exact sites of lightning strikes.

The lightning-strike detection system got a literal baptism of fire two weeks ago in Orange County. A rare electrical storm brought 46 lightning strikes into the county. County fire officials said that thanks to their new computer linkup with ALDS, firefighters knew immediately where those 46 lightning strikes occurred. In several cases, the lightning triggered small fires, which firefighters quickly extinguished.

Lightning, however, is not a usual or frequent fire hazard in Orange County, county officials noted. But Santa Ana winds are usual and frequent--and highly dangerous as a fire catalyst.

Thus, the Fire Department expects its new automatic weather detection system to get a more extensive workout soon, as Orange County enters the fall Santa Ana winds season.

“A Santa Ana wind is not going to surprise us anymore,” said Capt. Dan Young, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Department. “Now, we’ve always been ready to react to 911 (emergency) calls. But the problem with a 911 call is that we can only react. . . . With this equipment we can pro-act before a fire starts.”

Young explained that firefighters can now learn earlier when Santa Ana winds are entering the county. “This gives us the option of patrolling an area and being ready in case a fire starts,” he said.

The hot, dry Santa Ana winds are fire hazards because they suck moisture from grass, trees and shrubs. The resulting dryness is just a spark away from a raging brush fire. October and November are prime months for Santa Ana winds and firefighters are watching daily for early signs of them.

“The Santa Ana winds will be here any day now,” Young said. “Now we have something that gives us early warning on these winds. And this is very important to firefighters.”

The Fire Department’s new automatic weather station is in a remote canyon north of Irvine Lake. The site’s exact location has not been publicly disclosed to prevent vandals from wrecking the equipment.

“This site was picked because it is a prime location for detecting Santa Ana winds as they come into Orange County,” Young said.

There, solar-powered automatic equipment constantly collects wind, temperature and humidity changes. Those readings are then transmitted to a federally owned communications satellite, which, in turn, sends the weather data to a central computer owned by the state Department of Forestry in Sacramento. That same computer also collects weather information from 84 other automatic weather stations throughout the state.

As the first county in the state to link up with the RAWS satellite network, Orange County joins 84 other users of the system in California, all of them either federal or state agencies.

The federal Bureau of Land Management’s automatic lightning detection system relays the location of lightning strikes to a federal processing center in Boise, Ida. From there, the data is fed to other computers, including that of the California Department of Forestry in Sacramento.

In Orange County, information on lightning strikes comes by tapping into the Sacramento computer.

“It’s amazing how much information you get,” said Rich Toro, a senior communications supervisor for the Orange County Fire Department. On Sept. 27, “when we had all the lightning in Orange County, I could look here in the computer and see exactly where the lightning strikes were.”

In the past, county firefighters tried to get advance weather information by taking their own readings with small, hand-held instruments out in the field. Anderson said the old manual procedures were “inaccurate, inconsistent and depended on manpower.”

By comparison, firefighters say the automatic equipment now is more accurate and less expensive than the old methods because RAWS records data 24 hours a day without making it necessary to put firefighters in remote areas.

“This system also gives us access to all the statewide information through our computers,” Young said. “Of course, it is also beneficial to the other state agencies to get a weather site in Orange County. So everyone is benefitting from this new system.”

Fast as Lightning

Orange County firefighters can now instantly locate lightning strikes within the county by tapping into a federal detection system, allowing emergency crews to anticipate trouble spots during electrical storms.

1. Lightning ‘Signal’

When a bolt hits the ground, it gives off a unique magnetic and electrical signal over long distances.

2. Location Determined

Detectors in range of the lightning signal calculate the time and location of the strike.

There are four sensors in California.

3. Data Transmitted

Lightning information gets sent via telephone lines to a Bureau of Land Management computer in Boise, Ida.

4. Information Relayed

The computer in Boise collects lightning-strike information, then relays the data to computers in other cities.

5. Location Plotted

Orange County pulls its information from Sacramento, which is tied into the lightning data network. During a storm, strikes appear on screen almost instantaneously. Locations are accurate to within a mile

6. Responding to Trouble

By knowing where lightning has struck officials can send units out to check for trouble.

Sources: Bureau of Land Management; California Department of Forestry; Orange County Fire Department