President Mote in his testimony to the Maryland General assembly highlighted the work of the Department of Geography on fires:

Image: Southern California, 10/23/07 Photo Credit: NASA MODIS

“The Department of Geography pioneered the use of satellite images to monitor fires and deliver information quickly to disaster management teams and resource managers. The Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) is a partnership with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
The FIRMS helped the U.S. Northern Command fight the Fall 2007 wildfires in Southern California. FIRMS uses the Internet to deliver maps of fire locations in their geographic context.

The fire locations are generated from NASA MODIS instruments on two polar orbiting satellites imaging the Earth four times per day. FIRMS was recognized by the Northern Command for helping with its strategic support for fire fighters in Southern California. The FIRMS is also working with the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization to establish this capability for international disaster management."