Drones and Firefighting

Drones and Firefighting

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
What was it, about a year ago when the national tragedy of the Yarnell Hill fire killed 19 firefighters in Arizona. That caught the media's attention across the entire United States. In total last year, 38 firefighters were killed in the line of duty as fire burned 4.1 million acres and more than 1,000 homes. In a slightly unrelated but very relevant observation, I have done a ton of stories of late about satellites and drones. Brian Smith of the Twin Falls Times News has also thought about drones. In a recent article, he wondered, when it comes to analyzing dangerous wildfires, could a sensor attached to a drone ever replace a human eye connected to an intellect shaped by experience and intuition? Brian further reports that that is one of the many questions federal wildland firefighting officials are asking as drones become increasingly popular in warfare and commerce. Remember all of the conversations that we have had recently about how wonderful the optics and sensors are on drones. Mr. Smith brilliantly points out that drones with infrared capability could help where thick smoke keeps manned helicopters from gathering fire information. They also could keep people out of risky situations, provide real-time information to firefighters on the ground.
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