No Single Solution

Part of the reason is because the technology and processes to do the work is so new that technology logistics and integration issues are still being worked out. Some have easier solutions than others.

For example, some of the non-Google maps and models made available online by the Viz Center were originally hosted on a Windows server owned by the SDSU Geography department, which works closely with the Viz Center. The traffic load quickly crashed the machine. Frost called on Larry Smarr at University of San Diego California's California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) to host all of the maps and visualization data on its enterprise-class systems. Calit2 hosted the data on two new Intel Itanium 2-powered servers that were directly connected to SDSU.

Even after those improvements, the Google maps created by the Viz Center and by KPBS quickly became so inundated with traffic that it even overwhelmed the Google Maps servers. After a plea from Caloh and Frost, Google not only made system upgrades to handle the load but also sent two employees down to the Viz Center to help manage the system.

To automate the dissemination of up-to-date fire information, Frost and Welty say it is also a matter finishing upgrades to San Diego County's infrastructure. In addition to the GIS work done by their team, they are also collaborating with county officials to create a broadband wireless network to improve interagency communications and that will allow them to quickly provide updated maps to firefighters on the scene and to collect fresh video and data feeds for updates. The region has already invested $10 million in infrastructure to begin the process of building out this communication superstructure, including antennas placed on dozens of San Diego mountaintops.

Unfortunately, disaster waits for no technologist. Though the existing infrastructure did help agencies better communicate during these fires, there is still work to be done before the visualization data can be transmitted between field workers and the Viz Center for real-time processing. "It is still in a pilot mode. We're building out infrastructure and every year we get additional grants," Welty said. "We're doing it in increments and that is the way it is working out."

Welty is hopeful that this work will be complete by next spring. By the time fire season comes next year, San Diego will be better prepared than ever, he says.