Concerned over the increasing incidents of forest fires in the state, the government has decided to put in place a satellite data-based advanced system to detect, monitor and effectively combat such blazes. The digital data available from the moderate resolution imaging spectro-radiometer (MODIS) onboard various satellites under the international earth observing system will be used for monitoring forest fires. The data will be analysed by computer to generate necessary geographical information and the field officials concerned will be alerted automatically, providing all required information about the location and status of the blaze. The National Remote Sensing Agency (NARSA) has already developed a system to provide fire alerts in