As wildfire seasons intensify, drones aid in prevention
Ever year, millions of square kilometers burn around the globe due to intensifying wildfire seasons. Learn how drones can help with prevention and planning, early fire detection, and emergency response and firefighting.
Image courtesy of ben kuo
Fire is affecting places around the world, with more than four million square kilometers impacted each year globally. Additionally, the number of extreme wildfires is projected to increase by 50 percent by 2100. Hotter and drier conditions caused by climate change are expected to exacerbate and lengthen fire seasons. At the same time, wildfires worsen the impacts of climate change by damaging carbon-storing ecosystems like rainforests and peatlands.
This self-reinforcing system means that we can expect to see fire in our future, so we need to better work to understand fire dynamics, manage fire-adapted ecosystems, and plan for fire response. The United Nations’ Environmental Programme (UNEP) has called for governments to adopt a “Fire-Ready Formula,” dedicating two-thirds of expenditures to planning, prevention, preparedness, and recovery. Currently, planning usually receives less than one percent of spending. The UNEP discussed this challenge and their proposed formula to address it in their report, Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires.
image courtesy of malachi brooks
How do drones help with fire management?
Drones can be an essential tool for fire management — from managing the landscape for fire prevention and helping fight fires to assisting with post-fire emergency response.
When preparing for a fire, drone footage provides detailed information about hazards, which can help create an evacuation plan. Drones can also be used for preventive measures by igniting prescribed burns to reduce the fuel available in an area.
When fighting a fire, drones can gather live information to provide firefighters and emergency responders with increased awareness of the fire’s situation and monitor the success of response efforts. Drones with thermal sensors can locate heat signatures of fire hotspots that may be likely to spread. Thermal sensor-equipped drones can also locate heat signatures of humans that may not be visible due to smoky conditions. Additionally, drones can quickly transport materials for firefighting, such as water drops or communication equipment — and they provide a cheaper transport option than helicopters while having the ability to fly and capture footage in conditions that would be unsafe or hard to access for a helicopter. Unmanned options protect firefighters from the risk of helicopter or plane crashes, which are the cause of 24 percent of firefighting fatalities.
After a fire, drones can enter a burnt building and evaluate its structural integrity without risking first responders’ lives. Images collected showing the damage from a fire can be submitted to insurance companies to help process victims’ claims and get those affected back on their feet. Drone imagery can also help plan for increased mudslide threats in burned and deforested areas.
Read more about how drones can be a critical tool for firefighting in this piece from DJI.
“Drones with thermal sensors can locate heat signatures of fire hotspots that may be likely to spread.”
Where is fire management using drones taking place?
Drones have been used for firefighting efforts around the world. Here’s a short list of some interesting applications from the past several years:
Kenya – 2021 partnership between Stablegen and Robotto using autonomous wildfire recognition and analytics drones
China – Developing an autonomous drone early warning system for forest fires
South Africa – Using drones to survey damage the 2017 Western Cape wildfires
Chile – Drone photogrammetry and thermal night imaging to contain large-scale wildfires in 2017
Thailand – Thermal mapping drones at a chemical factory fire in 2021
Spain – Using drone LiDAR to assess wildfire severity and plan for preventive vegetation management
Russia – Using drones to survey wildfire forest recovery rates and carbon sequestration in Siberia
the number of extreme wildfires is projected to increase by 50 percent by 2100
Drone imagery can help plan for increased mudslide threats in burned and deforested areas
How can I get involved?
Here are some resources for firefighters or fire departments looking to get started with a drone program:
Read through DJI’s eBook titled Off the Ground to learn all about how to launch a fire department drone deployment program.
Check out the National Fire Protection Association (based out of the US) white paper called “SMART Fire Fighting: The Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Fire Service” that helps guide departments looking to establish a drone program.
Learn from another DJI guidebook “Fighting Fire with Thermal” which provides a guide to using thermal drones for firefighting.
Take the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) free four hour online course for fire service drone administrators and operators that includes simulations and other 3D and VR tools. NFPA has also created a drone knowledgebase to promote collaboration and information sharing across US public safety entities that utilize drones.
If you are a first responder and your organization already has a drone program, consider joining the International Emergency Drone Organization (IEDO). They have almost 700 members across 50 countries, about 60% of whom work in fire fighting. IEDO provides members with access to a digital library, including training documents, standard operating procedures, guides to data management, and a public forum, all of which are available in many different translations.
Sign up to join the IEDO network and learn more on their website.
Want to learn more?
Watch and listen to the following resources from DroneDeploy, Robotto, and the US FAA:
Watch the webinar from DroneDeploy about drone disaster response for wildfires in Australia and New Zealand.
Watch the webinar from Robotto about the potential of robotics and drones for fire management.
Listen to this short podcast from the United States Federal Aviation Administration about how drones can revolutionize wildland firefighting.
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