A set of three burn scars on Elba Island, detected by ITALSCAR in 1998. Core burned pixels are identified by multi-temporal and multi-threshold analysis of spectral indexes derived from Landsat TM/ETM images; shape refinement of the the burned areas then takes place by means of proven image processing techniques.
The three sites show up red-orange in the image, and correspond to Italian Forest Guard card index (or Area Incendio Boschivo) records of fires. The small site on the far west coast is the Pomonte fire. The card index reported two incendiary points affecting 15 hectares and 1.5 ha of territory respectively; ITALSCAR detected 15.3 ha. The second burn scar is inland, close to the left side of the start of the island's eastern peninsula that extends north, corresponding to the Volterraio fire. The card index reported a burn scar of 25 ha, ITALSCAR detected 13.8 ha. The final, by far the largest, burn scar is down on the bottom of the island, directly below the Volterraio burn scar. This matches the Monte Calamita fire; reported to have three ignition points affecting areas of 637 ha, 206 ha and 17 ha, ITALSCAR measured a total of 711 ha.
The Forest Guard figures are approximate estimates since the guards do not go on the field to exactly map the burned area. But a GPS survey carried out for ITALSCAR validation came within 2 ha of the satellite-based measurements.