It has been a terrible few months for fires. Not even months – it has been a terrible year for forest fires all over the world. In the United States alone, with the arid climate and warm weather a lot of fires have started. Because of the dry climate, fires easily start – and even more difficult to stop. For months now fire departments all over the countless mountains, forests, and wildlife reserves have had their hands full.
Some of these fires last days to weeks at a time. These cause millions of damage in wildlife and, in some cases, infrastructures in counties nearby. With the world seemingly ablaze and an unstoppable force in front of them, fire departments called for backup.
And this backup came in the form of small, compact, and agile drones.
The Fight on Klondike Fire:
In Josephine County, Oregon, a new drone joined in the battle against the flames in Klondike. This particular drone is not your average camera drone that only takes photos while on the air. It offers advanced firefighting instruments that can help against the growing fire menace. The local firefighters hope that it can also provide relief on other fire-stricken areas. That is, if this drone is successful in the current situation, of course.
The drone plans on mapping out the fires while also detecting hot spots only visible while on the air. This covers two grounds in firefighting: prevention and damage control. Mapping out fires enables firefighters to create a perimeter, limiting the spread and damage. Calling out hotspots only visible in the air gives firefighters an earlier response time. This can help out in eliminating fire threats before they become unmanageable. Fires usually start slowly, but once built up, can ravage a large plot of land. Smoke from a fire can be seen from afar, especially if you have eyes in the sky. One can see starts of a fire on the ground, but they can be quite difficult to see. They can even be more difficult to locate accurately. That’s where the drones come in.
These countermeasures, as well as allowing these drones to fly at night can help in the prevention of these massive fires.
