Drones could make fighting wildfires safer
Drones could make fighting wildfires safer
24 May 2013
published by www.koat.com
USA — The airspace over and around wildfires is a hot, smoky danger zone.
Though air attack is a necessary risk. New Mexico State Forestry spokesman Dan Ware said pilots fly close to wildfires in order to direct crews on the ground.
“Air attack flies above the fire, observing the fire behavior and direction of the fire,” Ware said.
This season, if the wildfires get big enough, unmanned aircraft, or drones, could be ones mapping the path of the flames.
“The beauty of (the unmanned aircraft) is that you can put them in areas where you wouldn’t necessarily want to put pilots,” said Everett Hinkley with National Remote Sensing Program Manager for US Fire Services.
“It does it in a way that’s pretty darn safe,” Hinkley said.
Though before the drone program can take flight, it needs to clear some hurdles with the Federal Aviation Administration.
“An unmanned aircraft flight cannot pose a safety hazard to other aircraft or to people on the ground,” FAA spokesperson Less Door said.
Hinkley said that’s why the launching of drones will be done on a case-by-case basis and in coordination with the US Army and the FAA. He adds that piloted aircraft, which drop water and fire retardant onto hot spots, aren’t going anywhere.
