Infrastructure protectionFeds give Colorado access to critical infrastructure info
The Homeland Security Infrastructure Program (HSIP) compiles about 500 layers of geographic features, including power plants and water pumps; it is managed by DHS, the Pentagon’s National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey; the data set is available to state first responders only when federal disasters are declared; DHS has now given Colorado access to the HSIP
The wild fires raging in Colorao have already scortched some 20,000 acres of land, threatening more than 20,000 structures and buildings.
Next.govreports that in order to help fire fighters and first responders set priorities and protect the more critical structures, the Homeland Security Infrastructure Program (HSIP) has given Colorado authorities access to critical infrastructure data such as bridges containing utility lines. the
The HSIP is managed by DHS, the Pentagon’s National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Next.gov notes that the complete HSIP data set, which aggregates statistics from government, industry, and academia is available to state first responders only when federal disasters are declared.
Russ Johnson, global director for public safety at Esri, the software company helping decision-makers analyze the data sets. Told Next.gov that by combining HSIP, live weather conditions, and other updated information, state first responders “are predicting where the fire is likely to go [and] where they need to allocate resources to protect the highest natural resource values and developed values…. The state is using HSIP data to fuse it with the [fire] perimeter data to understand what the impact and the potential impact on infrastructure could be.”
He added that with mobile ubiquity, “we have intelligence coming back in, right from the field…. The HSIP data is very valuable when combined with this real-time information.”
