Public Can Access NICB’s GIC Images of California Wildfires Damage

DES PLAINES, Ill., Nov. 16, 2018 — Images showing the destruction left behind by the recent California wildfires are now available to the public on the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s (NICB) website.

The Geospatial Intelligence Center (GIC), created by the NICB and Vexcel Imaging, began collecting high-resolution images shortly after the Woolsey fire raged through the Thousand Oaks area. Aircraft were also staged over the Malibu area and the Paradise community where the Camp Fire resulted in multiple deaths and extensive property damage. Flights over the Camp Fire are ongoing as heavy smoke has limited visibility.

The GIC images are processed within 24–36 hours of the aircraft landing, and the images have been made available to insurance companies that are GIC members as well as first responders and emergency personnel in California as they became available.

Images of damaged areas that have been flown over are available to the public here. By typing in an address, anyone can see “before” and “after” views of that location using a slider on the screen.

“This is helpful to property owners who may not be able to go back to their homes or businesses, and also assists the insurance industry by providing them with the ability to assess damage on behalf of their policyholders as soon as the images are available,” said NICB Chief Operating Officer Jim Schweitzer.

About Vexcel Imaging: Based in Centennial, CO, Vexcel Imaging Inc. is a leading provider of geospatial data and services and mapping products. The Vexcel Data Program powers the GIC, providing high-resolution vertical and oblique aerial data along with derivative data products that include high-density point clouds, digital surface and terrain models, orthomosaics, and 3D TINS. It’s portfolio of sensor systems consists of the industry-leading line of UltraCam digital aerial and terrestrial camera systems widely adopted by aerial mapping firms worldwide and underpinning the Vexcel Data Program and GIC. The portfolio includes a range of imaging systems including photogrammetric vertical camera systems, combined nadir and oblique image capture systems, and high-altitude wide-area mapping systems. For terrestrial collection, the car-based mobile mapping system UltraCam Mustang captures a street-level perspective, and the UltraCam Panther collects high-resolution imagery, video and LiDAR via a portable 3D reality mapping system. These systems, coupled with the UltraMap workflow software, offer geospatial data organizations and geospatial data users with highly accurate but cost-effect vertical, oblique and street level data.