A NASA high-altitude research aircraft conducted flights over wildfires in British Columbia over the weekend to gain insights into the weather phenomena triggered by large fires. The ER-2 plane was observed flying multiple times over B.C.’s southern Interior on Saturday, departing from Great Falls, Montana, for a flight lasting over six hours.
Data from the Flightradar24 website indicates that the aircraft spent approximately four hours flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet above the Clinton area, where the extensive Pear Lake wildfire is active. It also maneuvered eastward over Lake Revelstoke before reentering U.S. airspace.
NASA’s research focus with the ER-2 aircraft is on pyrocumulonimbus clouds, described as one of the Earth’s least understood severe weather phenomena. The B.C. Wildfire Service reports that the Pear Lake wildfire, covering nearly 1,500 square kilometers, has generated these unique clouds formed by intense smoke and heat, leading to the potential generation of rain, lightning, and fire whirlwinds.
The ER-2 aircraft, a refurbished Cold War spy plane known as the U-2, boasts a history of extreme altitude flights, surpassing the typical commercial flight altitudes by twice the height. Fitted with advanced infrared wildfire trackers, the aircraft collects critical data on pyrocumulonimbus clouds.
NASA highlights that these distinctive storms, characterized by smoke and lightning, can pose risks to aircraft above and ignite new fires below. Real-time monitoring and mapping of these hazardous weather events aim to enhance scientists’ ability to predict and manage them in the future.