Drone Joins the Fight in Kenai Peninsula Wildfire

On May 30, a ScanEagle drone launched early in the morning to join the firefighting efforts on the Kenai Peninsula. Members of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration settled into their small, windless trailer for an intense, 6 hour flight. The ScanEagle, through the use of infrared video and imagery equipment, was able to identify and record the location of 15 hotspots around the fire boundaries. This information was quickly relayed to officials to assist in determining the best course of action.

Ro Bailey, the deputy direction of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration has remained in contact with the Department of Emergency Management and the Division of Homeland Security since 2009, when the center and the ScanEagle assisting in the Crazy Mountain Complex fire by mapping the locations and providing value situational updates.

When word traveled down to Bailey that a call may come to assist in the Kenai Wildfire, she was all but ready. Alaska is one of the six states selected to use and operate drones to aid the FAA in locating gaps in the use of drones in civilian airspace. It took several hours of paperwork (and other forms of communication) to finally get permission to launch the ScanEagle, highlighting some obvious flaws in the current system for managing drone launches. However, once the ScanEagle was airborne it quickly scanned the area and provided much needed information concerning the 193,000 acre blaze.

In the eyes of the general public, drones are finally beginning to find an application people can get behind and, subsequently, toss out the conspiracy theory that are all out to spy on you. Take for example Mike Clemens and the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department, who are excited about the three drones recently brought in to improve the department’s ability to safely and quickly gather information about a fire without having to send firefighters into a dangerous burning building.

Some drone manufacturers, such as the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, have started to design and build drones specifically for first-responders, such as firefighters in an attempt to bring more advanced tools to the frontlines and assist in saving lives.