A NASA research aircraft conducted flights over wildfires in British Columbia over the weekend to study the weather effects caused by large fires. The ER-2 plane flew multiple times over B.C.’s southern Interior on Saturday for over six hours, departing from Great Falls, Montana. Flight data from the Flightradar24 website indicates that the aircraft spent around four hours at 60,000 feet above the Clinton area, where the extensive Pear Lake wildfire is active. It also traveled east over Lake Revelstoke before returning to U.S. airspace.
NASA’s research focuses on pyrocumulonimbus clouds, described as a poorly understood severe weather phenomenon on Earth. The B.C. Wildfire Service reports that the Pear Lake wildfire, covering nearly 1,500 square kilometers, has produced such clouds due to intense smoke and heat, leading to rain, lightning, and fire whirls.
The ER-2, a modified Cold War spy plane also known as the U-2, specializes in high-altitude flights, surpassing commercial flight altitudes by double. Equipped with advanced infrared wildfire sensors, the aircraft collects data on pyrocumulonimbus clouds.
NASA emphasizes that these distinctive storms, marked by smoke and lightning, pose risks to aircraft and ground fire hazards. By monitoring and mapping these storms in real-time, scientists aim to enhance future forecasting capabilities.