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PHOENIX - New technology is coming to Arizona to predict flooding and prevent wildfires. Moisture sensors are going in the ground to gauge just how dry the land is.
Soil that is too dry cannot absorb water, which creates a higher risk for flooding and wildfires. This advancement should help predict wildfires and flooding across Arizona.
What we know:
Salt River Project (SRP) officials say plant moisture, in both dead and alive plants, is one of the most important indicators of wildfire danger. However, taking field samples by hand is tough, time-consuming work, so this new technology will do the heavy lifting for them.
SRP crews are digging holes in the Tonto National Forest and planting tiny pieces of technology they hope will provide a treasure trove of data.
"If it's a dead piece of vegetation, we want to know how much moisture it's holding," said Barry Johnson, an SRP wildfire mitigation specialist. "If it's live, we want to know the moisture too. So we can predict how much wildfires will spread."
Dig deeper:
The system features three sensors placed at 10, 30, and 60 centimeters down. Each sends moisture readings to a computer screen once every hour. In comparison, the current system requires taking samples by hand twice a month.
Forestry teams at NAU will monitor and interpret the readings.
"So when we get these measurements below the forest we get a better idea of fire ignition," said Prof. Sally Diamond of NAU Forestry. "Both beneath the trees and how it may spread."
These moisture measurements should provide important clues, like the risk of a wildfire at a given location, along with how likely it is to spread, how big it might get, and predicting floods.
An SRP representative noted, "And from a water perspective, for flooding, it'll give us a lot of information about how wet or dry that soil is and help us better predict flooding as well."
Knowing all of this could help prevent wildfires, protect Arizona's reservoirs, and keep the power flowing to homes. The initiative allows officials to see the big picture with a small device buried in the ground.
"We want to keep the power on, right? That's our job to keep everyone's A/C and refrigerators running," an SRP official stated.
Big picture view:
This will be a 1-year pilot program, and if it works out, the technology will be used at other sites across the state.
The technology was developed by the company Growvera.