Editor’s Note: The above KXAN video explains how wildfires get their name.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thousands of emergency alerts went out to Texans in the Panhandle as major wildfires sparked to life on Feb. 26 and 27.
Those notifications are part of new wildfire alert systems developed in part by the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Infrared satellites allow the National Weather Service (NWS) and A&M Forest Service to monitor areas on days when the fire risk is extremely high, Texas A&M said in a news release Monday.
When a fire is detected, it alerts local emergency management teams, state fire and forestry officials, the release said.
From there, it’s up to local officials to decide if their community should be notified. If the answer is yes, then the alerts go out, the forest service said.
“With a fire season ahead, these alerts are a quick and efficient way to notify community members of a dangerous fire,” said Luke Kanclerz, Texas A&M Forest Service Predictive Services Department Head said in the release. “We have worked on this process in the hopes of improving public safety.
According to NWS, the whole process takes only nine minutes on average from notifying local officials to alerting the public, the release said.