A NASA high-altitude research plane conducted flights over the wildfires in British Columbia over the weekend to gain insights into the weather phenomena triggered by large fires. Online flight tracking data revealed that the ER-2 aircraft flew multiple times over B.C.’s southern Interior on Saturday, departing from Great Falls, Montana, for a flight lasting over six hours. Specifically, the plane spent approximately four hours at an altitude of 60,000 feet above the Clinton area, where the extensive Pear Lake wildfire is active. It also traversed east over Lake Revelstoke before reentering U.S. airspace.
NASA’s research focuses on pyrocumulonimbus clouds, which are described as among Earth’s least understood severe weather occurrences. The B.C. Wildfire Service reports that the Pear Lake wildfire, covering nearly 1,500 square kilometers and the largest in B.C., has generated such clouds due to intense smoke and heat. These clouds have the potential to induce rain, lightning, and fire whirlwinds.
The ER-2 aircraft, a modified Cold War spy plane known as the U-2, has a history of setting altitude records, reaching heights twice that of typical commercial flights. Fitted with advanced infrared wildfire tracking technology, NASA utilizes the aircraft to collect data on pyrocumulonimbus clouds. These storms, characterized by smoke and lightning, pose risks to aviators and can ignite new fires. NASA aims to monitor and predict these hazardous weather phenomena through real-time measurements and mapping.
[Image Caption: The flight path of NASA’s ER-2 Earth Resources aircraft flight over British Columbia on Saturday, Aug. 8, as tracked by Flightradar24. (The Canadian Press/Flightradar24)]