Satellite Fire Reconnaissance Update
The update information by satellite sensors is provided by imageries of the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite
Program (DMSP). The provision of satellite data are a response of the U.S. Government
to the Government of Ethiopia's call for international assistance.
Fig.1-3 DMSP scenes of East Africa, 31 March 2000. The red and white dots represent active fires. The center and right fire map show the area in which the problem fires are currently burning and fire-suppression actions take place.
Land signature: brown; water: blue; clouds: grey; stable lights (cities): cyan.
(Fig.1. upper left corner 20°N, 22°E lower right corner 0°N, 50°E;
Fig.2 & 3: upper left corner 9°N, 38°E lower right corner 5°N, 42°E)
(Source: DMSP)
News Coverage of Ethiopia Fires
by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) for Central and Eastern Africa
Tel: +254 2 622147
Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org
Subject: Horn of Africa: IRIN News Briefs [2000330]
Date: Thursday, 30 Mar 2000 15:43:42 +0300 (BEAUT)
ETHIOPIA: Over 100,000 hectares hit by fire
Almost a sixth of the 580,000 hectares of virgin forest in Bale and Borena zones in
Oromiya Region, southern Ethiopia, have been burnt or are still burning in multiple
blazes, according to an emergency update from the Global Fire Monitoring Centre. The fires
were quite patchy and not all areas within the forest path were fully burned, but an
estimated 100,000 hectares were fire-damaged, it said. Analysis of high-resolution
satellite imagery would be needed before precise data was available, it added. The
southern parts of the fire-affected areas have received little or none of what rain has
fallen in the past week, and major fires are still reported to be burning in Mada Wellabo
and Nensabo (Bale zone) and in Shakiso (Borana zone), the report said. Official statistics
for Bale zone as of 23 March indicated that 53,000 hectares had been burned, with 43
houses destroyed and over 5,000 beehives lost. The fires are believed to have been started
by farmers clearing land or honey collectors smoking bees from trees.
[For daily analysis and monitoring of the Ethiopian fires, see: http://www.uni-freiburg.de/fireglobe]
Ethiopia Current Fire Weather Situation and Forecast
Fire Weather Forecast for the Southern Region:
There is a well defined upper-air low developing over North-West Ethiopia with widespread
rain from Tuesday night onwards. The chance for rain is the best in the mountians. If the
rain occurs, any falls over 15mm will push down the index by at least another 25-40
points. This becomes a value that has to be calculated at ground level at the time and may
have an impact up to 21 days after the last rains.
Tab.1. Addis Ababa area forecast for 14:00 Tuesday 4 April 2000. Fire Danger Index (FDI) legend
| 6 Day 14h00 Forecast Ethiopia Region Addis Abba Area | |||||||
| Day | Temp (C) | Hum (%) | W Dir | WSpd (km/h) | Bar (Hpa) | FDI | Tendency |
| Tue 4 | 24 | 75 | SW | 17 | 1007 | 43 Green |  |
| Wed 5 | 23 | 78 | SW | 18 | 1008 | 42 Green |  |
| Thu 6 | 23 | 68 | SW | 17 | 1011 | 45 Yellow |  |
| Fri 7 | 26 | 58 | SE | 18 | 1008 | 53 Yellow | |
| Sat 8 | 27 | 53 | SE | 17 | 1010 | 55 Yellow | |
| Sun 9 | 28 | 48 | SE | 15 | 1012 | 56 Yellow | |
Tab.2. Goba area forecast for 14:00 Tuesday 4 April 2000. Fire Danger Index (FDI) legend
| 6 Day 14h00 Forecast Ethiopia Region Goba Area | |||||||
| Day | Temp (C) | Hum (%) | W Dir | WSpd (km/h) | Bar (Hpa) | FDI | Tendency |
| Tue 4 | 21 | 81 | E | 15 | 1012 | 37 Green | |
| Wed 5 | 21 | 84 | SE | 17 | 1010 | 37 Green | |
| Thu 6 | 22 | 75 | SE | 15 | 1010 | 40 Green | |
| Fri 7 | 23 | 68 | NE | 16 | 1009 | 44 Green | |
| Sat 8 | 24 | 58 | SE | 18 | 1011 | 51 Yellow | |
| Sun 9 | 22 | 55 | SE | 16 | 1013 | 47 Yellow | |
Source of forecast tables: Net Forecasting (South Africa) on the base of data from the ECMWF (European Center For Medium Range Weather Forecasts) and the U.K.M.O. (United Kingdom Meteorological Office).
 |
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Fig.4. and 5. Fire weather forecast maps
for Ethiopia, 4 and 5 April 2000.
Map legend
(Source: Net Forecasting)
Also available is a three-month rain forecast (starting 26 February 2000). The implications of this forecast are discussed by Net Forecasting.
An Eastern Africa and the Horn Satellite Imagery (NDVI) and rainfall analysis is provided by the USAID Famine Early Warning System.
The Ethiopian National Fire Fighting Committee, supported by the International Fire Emergency Advisory Group, has set up an Incident Command System. The structure of the system is given in the chart (Fig.6).
Fig.6. Structure of the Incident Command System (State: 20 March 2000)
For further information (history of the current fire situation in Ethiopia, starting in February 2000) please refer also to the earlier reports this and last week at the "Current Significant Fire Events" page. Some visual impressions from the ongoing fires in Ethiopia and several photographs taken from the Space Shuttle missions in the 1980s and 1990s with general impression of land cover and fires are also available.