A NASA high-altitude research plane conducted flights over the wildfires in British Columbia over the weekend to enhance understanding of weather patterns triggered by large fires. The ER-2 aircraft was observed on online aviation tracking flying back and forth across B.C.’s southern Interior multiple times on Saturday in a flight lasting over six hours, originating from Great Falls, Montana. Data from the Flightradar24 website revealed that 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 later veered east over Lake Revelstoke before reentering U.S. airspace.
NASA’s website states that the ER-2 is investigating pyrocumulonimbus clouds, described as one of Earth’s least understood severe weather phenomena. The B.C. Wildfire Service reported that the Pear Lake wildfire, covering nearly 1,500 square kilometers, has generated such clouds due to intense smoke and heat, leading to rain, lightning, and fire whirlwinds.
The ER-2 aircraft, a modified Cold War spy plane based on the U-2 model, has a history of breaking altitude records, flying up to twice as high as typical commercial flights. It is equipped with advanced infrared wildfire sensors to collect data on pyrocumulonimbus clouds. NASA emphasized that these storms, laden with smoke and lightning, can pose hazards for aircraft above and ignite additional fires below. Real-time monitoring and analysis of these storms aim to improve future forecasting capabilities.
Image: A flight path map displaying the trajectory of NASA’s ER-2 Earth Resources aircraft over British Columbia on Saturday, Aug. 8, as monitored by Flightradar24.