In some cases, permanently installed weather stations are not enough, such as in dangerous wildfires that spread quickly and can cause disasters. To this end, our Canadian partners from FTS have developed a clever solution to set up complete weather stations including cabinet within a short time exactly where they are urgently needed…

Photo credit: FTS (Forest Technology Systems)

With a network of over 2,200 fixed fire weather stations throughout North America, FTS has been providing data through reliable telemetry for over 20 years. The data is used to predict, prevent, and coordinate suppression activities before and during extreme events.

Because fixed stations are not always in the location you need them when an event breaks out, FTS developed the Quick Deploy (QD); a portable remote automated weather station that offers the same precision and reliability as our fixed stations for our fire weather market. The QD can be quickly deployed and re-deployed into the area of interest to measure precise micro-climate changes critical for monitoring high risk areas where extreme events are suspected to or may have already have begun.

The QD offers secure deployment using a telescoping tripod system that allows feet placement on uneven terrain and can withstand wind gusts of up to 160km/h (100mph). Its built-in intelligent power management system monitors solar panel output, optimizes charging voltage based on temperature and can even throttle telemetry communications, while always recording data locally. The QD packs into two supplied flight cases, weighing 35kg (75lbs) each and fit in any regular vehicle, ATV or helicopter. There are currently over 50 QD’s in active duty right now.

FTS is pleased to announce that we have expanded our offering to include our QD H-Series, specifically for our hydrological and meteorological markets. The QD H-Series supports both our H1RS and H2 data loggers, a number of telemetry options and has been CE certified for sale outside North America.

All QD’s are compatible with any member of the Lufft WS sensor family, including the Ventus. With a dedicated mount, the QD station can be assembled and pre-configured with your choice of Lufft WS sensor ready to go out of the flight case.

The following video demonstrates the use of QD’s in forest fire cases:

More information on the FTS QD and QD H-Series can be found at:

• Quick Deploy Station general details
• Quick Deploy Station H-Series
• Lufft WS Family
• Lufft VENTUS Ultrasonic Anemometer
• News entry about the new QD stations on FTS Homepage

About the author: My name is Alan DeCiantis. As Director of Product Management at FTS (Forest Technology Systems), I am always looking for new and innovative ways to make our customers successful.