Summary Reader Response Draft 3: “Drones Take Their Place on the Cutting Edge of Wildfire Fighting”

The article "Drones Take Their Place on the Cutting Edge of Wildfire Fighting" (Patterson, 2021) discusses a drone program created to combat wildfires. According to Patterson, an experimental drone, the KHawk, with a quadcopter design, is equipped with an autopilot system, a thermal camera, and other specialized avionics. It's designed to fly autonomously with ground control while transmitting weather and fire data, including forecasts of where the flames will spread next. The researchers found difficulty getting the program to work because of the fierce winds and turbulence caused by the extreme temperatures. Designing small, portable wings that would keep the plane stable amid wildfires and severe winds is still a challenge. It's critical to fly small drones safely in these scenarios. Patterson also mentions how commercial drone platforms equipped with the payload system IGNIS carry a basket filled with ignition spheres, which carry those that are used to set up controlled burns. The drone has built-in cameras, high-temperature sensors, autonomous capabilities, and a remote emergency release mechanism. With these advanced features and systems, drones stand out among the other methods currently used to fight wildfires in terms of cost, efficiency, and safety. 

Drones are cost-efficient when compared to other methods currently used to fight wildfires like helicopters, planes, and firefighters. Nowadays, “helicopters use a similar system to IGINS for ignitions” (DJI, 2020). Although they use the same mechanisms, they cost more than drones. Drones are significantly cheaper and more versatile than helicopters, especially when used to combat local wildfire operations. According to Alexis et al. (2009), from an operational perspective, the use of many low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) significantly reduces the costs associated with the same flight scenario as compared to a traditional helicopter. Moreover, Mark Bathrick, Director of the Office of Aviation Services, states that drones can transmit high-quality data instantaneously for a fraction of the cost of regular flights (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2018). 

Correspondingly, drones equipped with specialist avionics also outperform other methods for combating wildfires in terms of efficiency. With eyes above the area as well as the ability to fly the drone to hotspots, firefighters can battle the fire more effectively. The scene commander can better lead the firefighters on the ground to fight the wildfires with details provided by the drone. This allows firefighters to spot dangerous wildfires quickly and fight them effectively, as well as monitor and track forest fires. Sherstjuk et al. (2018) modelled a multi-UAV-based tactical forest fire monitoring system and proved that the combination of automatic monitoring and remote sensing can be used to create an estimated fire-spreading model that is effective and reliable in predicting fires and improving the firefighting response.  

Additionally, drones can enhance safety by utilizing their advanced systems. Putting out wildfires is a dangerous occupation. Between 2015 and 2017, “an estimated 25,975 firefighter injuries occurred annually on the fireground” (U.S. Fire Administration, 2019). A firefighter's main task is to observe the fire front to track the fire's progress and predict the path of a wildfire so that it does not spread. This frequently results in a lack of knowledge about the fire front, resulting in several accidents. In a risky environment, UAVs can hover over hot spots. Deploying drones to capture real-time data can help firefighters make better judgments and respond promptly to danger. Mark Bathrick, Director of the Office of Aviation Services, sees the increased use of drones as an opportunity to improve land and resource management safety and efficiency. He also says that increasing the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones can improve safety in general (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2018).

However, drones are also not perfect. Some of the downsides of a drone include its battery life and heat tolerance. Although drones can operate in hot weather, extreme temperatures still present a severe problem. In this case, drones are prone to damage that causes permanent loss in battery capacity, stability, and lifespan. When batteries are subjected to excessive heat, even with minimal exposure, the batteries still heat up and deplete faster, resulting in a short lifespan. With regards to operating in extreme temperatures, Myeong et al. (2017) proposed an aerial robot made of fire-resistant material to prevent the risk of damage to electronic equipment when directly exposed to flames. 

Overall, drones are ideal for land managers looking to test experimental methods for fighting wildfires in the decades ahead. Drones have improved features and technologies that offer them a competitive advantage over other methods in terms of cost, efficiency, and safety, and they will play a prominent role in the near future. Similarly, by fully utilizing drones, both manpower and casualties can be decreased. For these reasons, the drone's significance cannot be overstated.

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Reference: 

Alexis, K., Nikolakopoulos, G., Tzes, A., & Dritsas, L. (2009). Applications of Intelligent Control to Engineering Systems: Coordination of Helicopter UAVs for Aerial Forest-Fire Surveillance. Springer, Dordrecht. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-90-481-3018-4_7

DJI, E. (2020, December 2). Dones & the Future of Fighting Forest Fires. Firefighting drone technology lights the way as global wildfires reach unprecedented proportions. https://enterprise-insights.dji.com/blog/firefighting-drones-controlled-burns

Myeong, W.C., Jung, K.Y., & Myung, H. (2017). Development of FAROS (fire-proof drone) using an aramid fiber armor and air buffer layer. 2017 14th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence (URAI), 204-207. https://10.1109/URAI.2017.7992713

Patterson, T. (2021, October 7). Drones Take Their Place on the Cutting Edge of Wildfire Fighting. Flying Magazine: Sophisticated drones now find wildfire hot spots, ignite controlled fires, and plant seeds for reforestation. In the future, they’ll do even more. https://www.flyingmag.com/drones-wildfire-fighting/

U.S. Department of the Interior. (2018, February 21). Interior Announces 2017 Drone Mission Report: Drone Fleet Supports Modern Approach to Managing Wildfire and Natural Resources on Public Lands. https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-announces-2017-drone-mission-report

U.S. Fire Administration. (2019, July). Fire-Related Firefighter Injuries Reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (2015-2017). https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/reports/firefighter_injuries_v20i2.html

Sherstjuk, V., Zharikova, M., & Sokol, I. (2018). Forest Fire-Fighting Monitoring System Based on UAV Team and Remote Sensing. 2018 IEEE 38th International Conference on Electronics and Nanotechnology (ELNANO), 663-668. https://10.1109/ELNANO.2018.8477527