Executive Summary
A groundbreaking 2025 study by Castellnou Ribau et al. highlights the critical role of real-time atmospheric data in protecting wildland firefighters during extreme wildfire events. The research demonstrates that deploying small, instrumented weather balloons—specifically the Sparv Windsond S1H2—can significantly improve situational awareness and tactical decision-making in volatile fire conditions.
🔥 Why It Matters
Wildfires create unpredictable and dangerous environments, often altering local weather through pyroconvection. Traditional forecasting tools fail to capture these localized dynamics, leaving firefighters vulnerable to sudden wind shifts and escalating fire behavior.
🎈 Windsond’s Contribution
- Chosen Technology: Among several evaluated instruments (radiosondes, drones, radars), the Sparv Windsond S1H2 was the only one to meet all operational criteria.
- Deployment: 156 Windsonds were launched across Spain, Chile, Greece, and the Netherlands during wildfire seasons.
- Methodology: Dual-sonde launches (ambient vs. in-plume) enabled real-time analysis of fire-atmosphere interactions.
- Impact: Provided reliable, high-resolution data on temperature, humidity, and wind—crucial for anticipating dangerous shifts and improving firefighter safety
The article
A new study shows the utility of Windsond in increasing the safety of firefighters during wildfires. We’re thrilled about the research and the conclusion that Windsond helps in this important matter.
Significance of the Study
Wildland firefighters routinely confront volatile and dangerous environments where conditions can change in an instant. A sudden shift in wind direction can quickly transform a manageable flank of a fire into a raging inferno, trapping crews and cutting off escape routes. Further complicating matters, the wildfire itself can dramatically modify the local atmospheric conditions via pyroconvection. The resulting unpredictability is a constant threat, making access to accurate, real-time atmospheric data a matter of life and death. Unfortunately, obtaining this crucial data from the heart of a blaze is incredibly difficult, leaving firefighters to rely on broader forecasts that may not capture the fire's unique and localized weather dynamics.
To bridge this critical information gap, a recent study by Castellnou Ribau et al., 2025 (“Integrating Fireline Observations to Characterize Fire Plumes During Pyroconvective Extreme Wildfire Events: Implications for Firefighter Safety and Plume Modeling”) has demonstrated the effectiveness of deploying small instrumented weather balloons directly into the fire environment. These instruments are equipped to gather high-resolution data on temperature, humidity, and wind speed and direction as they ascend through the smoke plume and surrounding atmosphere. This approach offers the potential to give incident commanders much-needed intelligence to anticipate dangerous wind shifts, protect their crews, and make more effective tactical decisions.
The Role of the Sparv Windsond S1H2
The authors of the study considered several instrument options to probe the atmospheric environment associated with wildfires and to assess the safety of firefighters. These included: conventional operational radiosondes, small and configurable radiosondes, Doppler radars, instrumented drones, and helicopter sensors. Each option was evaluated based on a list of criteria as discussed in Castellnou Ribau et al., 2025. Ultimately the Sparv Windsond S1H2 was chosen as the only instrument that fulfilled all criteria (See Table 1).
The study presents a method to analyze the fire-atmosphere interaction in real-time using two Sparv S1H2 radiosondes in ambient and in-plume conditions. The researchers launched 156 Sparv S1H2 radiosondes during wildfire seasons in Spain, Chile, Greece, and the Netherlands. This methodology detects sudden changes in fire behavior by comparing ambient and in-plume data, ultimately enhancing research on fire-atmosphere interactions [adapted from the Short Summary provided in the paper].
Sonde launching within the fire plume area. a) plume description from an upwind location. b) detail of a sonde launching. c) Launching locations relative to the indraft induced by the plume updraft. The black dashed arrow represents a rear indraft sonde, the orange dashed arrow represents a flank indraft sonde, the red dashed arrow represents a head indraft sonde, and the green dashed arrow represents the ambient sonde away from the plume’s influence. [Image from Castellnou Ribau et al., 2025; Image description adapted from the same source. See the paper for a fuller description]
The Windsond S1H2 provided reliable observations of the atmospheric conditions directly within the fire-induced updrafts (pyroconvection). This understanding is critical to evaluating the strength and development of the fire-atmosphere interaction.
Ongoing Developments
Sparv now offers the Windsond S2, which is a next generation version of the S1 used in the study. Compared to the S1, the S2 is more robust, easier to use, lighter, and offers improved data quality. We feel that this instrument is capable of providing even better data within fire environments and servicing the firefighter community.
The Sparv Team offers many other instruments for atmospheric monitoring. Feel free to reach out to us for more information or questions about your particular needs.
About the author
Phil Chilson
Atmospheric Physicist & Customer Service
Phillip applies meteorological expertise to support instrument development, deployment, and data collection. Ensures high-quality data from the Sparv instrumentation suite. Partners with clients to design customized sampling strategies.