It has been a really hot couple of weeks, don’t you think? The summers provided arid temperatures and it really seems like an easy way to cause massive fires. In forested areas all over the world, fires have been roaring. With all these incidents going on, manpower is not enough. For smaller towns and counties, a helicopter is not that feasible of an option.
Sure, a helicopter would be a nice addition to firefighters. Helicopters can fly up in the air and provide a vantage point to relay information to the ground. Some enhanced aircrafts can even carry thousands of gallons of water from a nearby water source to help put out fires.
But for budgetary reasons, a helicopter just isn’t that realistically available to all. That is where drones come in.
San Francisco Fire Emergency:
And yes, in the past, drones often came in tandem with fires. Usually civilian drones disrupt relief efforts by hovering over the areas. But for drones owned by these fire departments, it can provide invaluable help.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, fires are also a menace lately. Here, responders started using drones to help them in their efforts. The area around Shasta County for example has had problems in a nearby Carr Fire.
After ensuring that civilian drones cannot enter the area, the fire department started their work. Without an interference from outside sources (the civilian drones), their own department’s drones made quick work. Using their bird’s eye view of the area, they quickly spotted areas that needed help. Using their cameras to find vulnerable areas, they made firefighters’ work more accurate.
The devastating fire was estimated to have started early afternoon of July 23. The Carr Fire took out over a thousand homes in its wake, along with nearly 500 commercial buildings in the area. Hopefully with drones on the hunt, the fire’s spread can be contained.
