Alva Review-Courier -

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota's state fire meteorologist is part of a coalition using satellite technology to notify fire managers when fuels are abnormally dry.

Darren Clabo, a research scientist and instructor at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, is collaborating with colleagues from other scientific agencies including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create a tool called Fire Risk Estimation 2.0, or FiRE, the Rapid City Journal reported .

The tool analyzes drought, high-resolution fuel and precipitation conditions to produce a fire-danger a...