United States Forest Service Deploys the Avenza PDF Maps App for Fire-Fighting

PDF Maps app to aid firefighting and emergency response efforts

 

TORONTO (October 27, 2015)—The United States Forest Service (USFS) fights wildfires and other natural disasters in more than 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, totaling an estimated 193 million acres or 30% of all federally-managed lands. The USFS Geospatial Management Office (GMO) is responsible for the implementation of the Forest Service geospatial program which includes using technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, cartography, geodesy, and global positioning systems (GPS).

 

“A San Juan interagency hotshot crew member refers to a map on his iPad as he coordinates execution of their burnout operation.” BurnOut.jpg (Photo credit: Esther Godson)

 

Every year thousands of acres of forests are engulfed in fires. Recognizing the benefits of geospatial technology, the USFS GMO has included Avenza System Inc.’s award-winning PDF Maps mobile app in order to deliver interactive digital maps to fire fighters and emergency response teams situated in forests across the United States and its territories.

 

With increased use of digital solutions, the USFS benefits from Avenza’s PDF Maps app geospatial technology in enabling its thousands of fire-fighters and support personnel. The PDF Maps app aids emergency response teams who use digital devices for work in the field. The PDF Maps app provides constant access to geographic information and points of interest, with additional interactive features such as measuring, place marking and location tagging. Avenza’s PDF Maps app operates without the risk of lost reception due to cell tower proximity and does not rely on an internet connection to use map data. It uses GPS to obtain and display an accurate position on the ground regardless of network connectivity.

 

“Accessing maps on mobile devices ensure responders have accurate and current geographic information while they’re out in the field,” said Carl Zulick, Geospatial Information Officer, USFS. “Avenza’s PDF Maps app makes it possible for teams to use any map digitally without requiring a data connection while involved in an emergency situation. Since the maps are location-aware and interactive, we can capture real-time data, photos, and locations. This data can be shared to assess the situation and make necessary strategic changes and improve situational awareness.”

“The centered blue GPS position on an operations map pinpoints the user’s location.” iPadMap.png (Photo Credit: Carl Beyerhelm)

 

The PDF Maps app is available now on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store free of charge for personal recreational use. A Windows version is currently in public beta release. Commercial, government and academic use licensing is available for a nominal annual fee. For more information about PDF Maps, visit the Avenza website at http://www.avenza.com or the PDF Maps website at http://www.pdf-maps.com.  Pricing of each map is set by the publisher and free maps remain free to users through the PDF Maps app in-app store. Commercial use licensing starts at US$49 per year and drops on a per-device basis as deployment numbers increase.

 

About Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps as well as the PDF Maps mobile mapping system. In addition to software offerings for Mac and Windows users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. For more information, visit the Avenza website at www.avenza.com.