June 27, 2018
Wildfire Notification for Pipelines
Originally published April 2017
The 2016 Fort McMurray fire (dubbed “The Beast”) gained international attention for the regional devastation and mass evacuation of over 90,000 residents. Alberta’s energy industry was also hard hit with production ouputs reduced by approximately 14 million barrels; equating to over $450 million in lost production (Source: Globe and Mail May 13, 2016).
The impact of the fire was the catalyst for Cenozon’s Wildfire Notification App, which started late last summer.
Wildfires are of course, no stranger to Alberta. This graph displays the size and number of Alberta wildfires in the last 15 years up to 2015:
As we approach the first anniversary of the Fort McMurray fire, meteorologists warn of a warmer summer and increased risk of forest fires, which could have a direct impact on the pipeline industry (Source: Calgary Herald April 17, 2017).
Helps keep pipeline company’s assets and employees safe during wildfire events
Cenozon developed a web-based application designed to assist in monitoring wildfire events in Alberta and British Columbia. This application gathers daily wildfire status and location data from both the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development and the BC Wildfire Management Branch and presents them in an easy-to-use and visually appealing web-application. The Wildfire Manager provides support and important information about developing wildfires that may impact oil and gas operators in the following ways:
- Receive daily automated wildfire notification e-mails relevant to your operations
- Visualize wildfires on web based maps within a customizable proximity of assets including wells, facilities, pipelines and drilling sites
- Proactively mitigate wildfire risk to protect public safety, employees and assets
The Wildfire Manager application is a management tool within our Pipeline Integrity Risk Manager (PIRM) software.
Existing Cenozon customers can simply send a note to Wildfire@Cenozon.com and we will set you up with your ID and send instructions within 2 days. Companies who are not signed up to our proven PIRM software can contact us to learn more.
How it Works
The e-mail notifications you will receive contain multiple hyperlinks to all new wildfires within the area you have designated for your assets. The operator can then click on any fire and the application will open up and zoom to the specified fire as shown below:
When taking a closer look at the specific fire, the operator can then see exactly what facilities and pipelines are affected. Different symbology is also used to represent the current state of the fire, from inactive to out of control. Additional attributes are available that can provide operators with more information about the fires such as burn areas and perimeters of the fires:
