Space Imaging's Wildland Fire Risk Assessment System (WFRAS) approach has been selected by the Southern Group of State Foresters (SGSF) to support ongoing fire management planning and wildland fire risk analysis in each community, county, congressional district and fire response zone of the organization's 13 states. The member states are Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. The organization also includes the U.S. Forest Service's Region 8 Office in Atlanta. The Texas Forest Service is administering the project on behalf of SGSF.

Space Imaging's WFRAS is a proven wildland fire risk assessment methodology that employs both GIS and remote sensing technologies. It is a well-defined and repeatable process for describing fuels and analyzing wildland fire risk to suit any scale of operation, including wildland and wildland urban interface areas. The wildland fuels are mapped using 30-meter resolution Landsat(TM) imagery as a baseline. Optionally, high-resolution multi-spectral imagery from Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite may be used for mapping fuels for specific areas of interest. To develop the methodology, Space Imaging worked with leading fire subject matter experts to incorporate the best wildland fire science available for fire protection planning. The Wildland Fire Risk Assessment Model contains calculations to derive indices of Wildland Fire Susceptibility, Fire Effects, Fire Response Accessibility and Wildland Fire Risk. This award follows successful completion of the statewide Florida fire risk assessment project by Space Imaging.

The contract period is initially for 12 months to conduct the baseline analysis, beginning in July 2003. Once the Southern Group of State Foresters Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment project is completed, each state will be better equipped to communicate wildland fire risks to the public. Additional years are planned to ensure proper technology transfer occurs with State representatives.

"The Southern Group of State Foresters is very excited about the Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment, and the benefits it will provide to the southern states. We look forward to working with the Space Imaging team on this very important project," said Tom Spencer, SWRA Project Manager from the Texas Forest Service.

"The Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment project will give fire professionals and other stakeholders a dynamic set of tools for evaluating site-specific fire risks in a consistent manner across the region, with the ultimate goal of reducing the tremendous human and property loss caused by wildfire," said Dr. Jim Smith, Fire Management domain manager for Space Imaging.

Space Imaging is the premier provider of satellite imagery enabling businesses, governments and individuals to better map, measure, monitor and manage the world in which we live. Based near Denver, Colo., Space Imaging radically transformed the Earth information market when in 1999 it launched IKONOS, the world's first commercial high-resolution imaging satellite. Today, Space Imaging's products are the cornerstone of the remote-sensing industry. The company supplies the highest quality, most accurate, visual information about the planet's changing natural and cultural features. Space Imaging's customer-centric business lines include imagery from satellites and aircraft, decision-support geospatial solutions, and direct access to its satellites for corporations and governments. With expected 2003 revenues over $200 million, Space Imaging is a privately held company with partners, resellers and 13 affiliate ground stations around the world.