RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – You’re probably not thinking about wildfires with all of the snow and ice this week, but they’re always top of mind for South Dakota Wildland Fire.
It’s never a bad idea to have an extra set of eyes in the sky.
Since around the Spring of 2022, South Dakota Wildland Fire launched its unmanned aerial systems program to help fight wildfires.
Michael Reed with SDWF said the drones have been a game changer.
The technology helps the agency locate hot spots during a fire and provide a great helping hand to crews on the ground.
“Utilizing UAS in conjunction with Infrared is we can see a lot of times, we can see this heat and we’re able to map that and we can provide that map to the boots on the ground,” said Reed. “Now they have an exact location to go to.”
The technology can also come in handy in investigating the cause of fires. Thanks to the drones, they we’re able to solve a case involving trees contacting a power line.
“On the ground, looking at all our different burn indicators, by putting the drone in the air, we were actually able to find the branches burned off on the ends that had contacted the lines,” said Reed.
Despite not having the capabilities of dropping water and fire retardant like helicopters can, the drones are more cost effective, provide less risk in endangering crews and offer another benefit.
“We can fly at night,” said Reed. “Whereas in a regular wildfire, our aircraft, with few exceptions, typically in California, air crafters shut down at night.”
During nighttime, the drones can show where the fires are spreading and its activity.
“In waiting until the nighttime hours, humidity come up a little bit, temperatures come down, fire behavior decreases a little bit,” said Reed. “In utilizing some of these tools and doing firing at night, you have a much higher probability of success.”
Reed said South Dakota Wildland Fire currently has nine registered drone pilots. The program continues to build and expand the agency’s capabilities.
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