ABSTRACT
Wildfires are increasing in severity and frequency, with impacts on ecosystems, the built environment, human health and safety and economic well-being. Addressing the wildfire crisis through mitigation, monitoring, or through beneficial fires is at the forefront of wildfire management strategies. This chapter introduces the application of thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing across the wildfire lifecycle: use of TIR-derived evapotranspiration (ET), evaporative stress index (ESI) and water use efficiency (WUE) for pre-fire fuels characterization, TIR-derived land surface temperature (LST) for active fire detection of burned areas, as well as ET and ESI for post-fire vegetation recovery and damage assessment. TIR from both airborne and spaceborne sensors is critical for addressing wildfire science and application needs. While satellite sensors may offer global coverage, airborne sensors may be deployed to provide more timely and localized information on smaller scales. A growing constellation of government, private and nonprofit-led sensors is paving the way for future firefighting and wildfire mitigation activities globally.
