Proof-of-concept research is being conducted to: compare airborne and in situ, ground-based fire measurement systems; begin evaluation of two fire-behavior simulation models with these data; test approaches to incorporating improved wind-field and weather data in these models; test the utility of the airborne remote sensing for incident management; and, to develop a geodatabase architecture to facilitate sharing and integration of data. The Rapid Response study will provide an evaluation of the relative accuracy and efficacy of alternative remote sensing methods for characterizing fires, predicting fire effects, and supporting post fire severity mapping efforts. As many as four remote sensing approaches are implemented on each field deployment: in situ kinetic and radiometric thermal observations within a plot area which is to be burned over by the wildland fire; oblique-angle thermal radiometry from a viewpoint outside of the instrument deployment site; multi-spectral thermal infrared image acquisition from fixed-wing aircraft; MODIS sensor fire detection and mapping. Both pre- and post-fire ground sampling is performed within the plot to characterize fuel loadings and moistures, vegetation, overstory, and site attributes. Partners in field operations and data acquisition include co-investigators from the University of Montana (National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis) and Rochester Institute of Technology (Center for Imaging Sciences).