Detection of unkown coal fires in Hulusitai and Shitanjing, 2003

All thermal anomalies were closely associated to the land cover class "coal" extracted from the multispectral remote sensing data. The fires were not known to the local mining authorities and this first time detection strongly supported the remote sensing processing chain developed at DFD-DLR. The areas of Hulusitai and Shitanjing are coal mining towns with declining reserves and mining activity. Sealed mines and large remaining coal waste and storage piles pose a great threat for the ignition of new fires. The area will remain under remote sensing based monitoring.