Mechanized birds: Wildland firefighting with drone intelligence
Leonard Pies and Jordan Hahn with Precision Integrated Programs / Overwatch Aero perform pre-flight maintenance on the FVR-90 fixed wing drone, before takeoff to fly around the perimeter of the Lightning Complex Fire near Willow Creek, Calif., on Aug. 31.
(Photo courtesy ANDREW AVITT/USDA FOREST SERVICE)
The fixed wing drone has the capability of flying around the entire perimeter updating maps and providing real time intelligence to firefighters. (USDA Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt)
There are a few different types of drone used by firefighters. Rotor wing drones resemble more of what recreational drone pilots might fly, ranging from a small one- square foot to a medium 6-square feet. These types of drones operate nearer to the front lines supporting individual divisions of firefighters to give them a closer look and inform their strategies. Rotor wings can also be used for aerial ignition which burns up existing fuels ahead of the fire to starve it and creates a wider fuel break.
Tyler Kock, Daniel Rodriguez, and Cliff Savage a contracted UAS crew with Precision Integrated Programs / Overwatch Aero on the Lighting Complex Fire. These UAS are used to provide real-time situational awareness to ground crews while also providing timely perimeter updates to the command staff.
Firefighting drones carry cameras with multiple types of sensors that can see heat from fires on the landscape, at night and through smoke. In the left image a box shows the area of land that is visible in the right image. These images are then used to update maps.
The robotic birds of the sky, known colloquially as drones, were a menace to the wildland firefighting community. The mere appearance of a recreational drone in the skies near a wildfire called for the grounding of all firefighting aircraft, giving birth to catchy sayings like “If you fly, we can’t,” and “It’s not worth the view.”...
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