A NASA research aircraft conducted flights over the wildfires in British Columbia over the weekend to study the weather effects caused by large fires. The ER-2 plane was observed flying multiple times over B.C.’s southern Interior on Saturday in a flight lasting over six hours, originating from Great Falls, Montana. Flight tracking data indicated that the aircraft spent approximately four hours at an altitude of 60,000 feet over the Clinton area, where the significant Pear Lake wildfire is active. It later headed east over Lake Revelstoke before re-entering U.S. airspace.
NASA’s research focus with the ER-2 aircraft includes studying pyrocumulonimbus clouds, described as one of the least understood severe weather phenomena on Earth. The B.C. Wildfire Service reported that the Pear Lake wildfire, covering nearly 1,500 square kilometers, has led to the formation of such clouds due to extreme smoke and heat, potentially resulting in rain, lightning, and fire tornadoes.
The ER-2, a modified Cold War spy plane also known as the U-2, has a history of conducting high-altitude flights, surpassing the typical commercial flight altitudes. Equipped with advanced infrared wildfire trackers, the aircraft collects data on pyrocumulonimbus clouds. NASA emphasized the significance of monitoring these storms in real-time to enhance future forecasting capabilities.
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.