Drones Against Wildfires
Interview with Dr. Gerald Wissel of UAV DACH
Forest and vegetation fires are not unusual in regions with hot summers and low rainfall. But their frequency and intensity have increased in recent years. This is no coincidence. While climate change intensifies risk factors such as heat and drought, extensive forestry practices – key points include monocultures and missing firebreaks – and insufficient safety mechanisms also play their part. To counter this development, prevention and response need to be rethought. Dr. Gerald Wissel, Chair of the Board of UAV DACH – European Association for Unmanned Aviation, believes uncrewed systems should play a central role.
If uncrewed systems can be used efficiently to fight wildfires, why has that not been happening for a long time?
Drones are already widely used by police and rescue services, in civil protection and by fire departments. They are also being used to fight the current wildfires. Primarily to gain a better overview, coordinate operations or find missing, injured or endangered people as quickly as possible. Different research and pilot projects are also under way to deploy UxS even more efficiently during natural disasters and incidents. As with any other operational resource, the key is to integrate uncrewed systems as effectively as possible into rescue chains and incident concepts. And not to look for completely new structures and processes. We all need to rethink this together so that uncrewed systems can be used for the greatest possible benefit to society.
What do you mean by rethink?
On the one hand, uncrewed systems – whether in the air, on the ground or in the water – are primarily tools that need to be used sensibly. On the other hand, given the growing challenges posed by natural disasters such as forest and vegetation fires, heavy rain events, storms or flooding, we need to recognize that climate change forces us to reposition civil protection and disaster relief. And that explicitly begins with prevention and forward-looking protective measures. Not to mention sustainable technologies and European resilience in key future technologies.
How could drones be used very concretely to prevent wildfires, for example?
Even with uncrewed systems, fires will probably never be completely preventable. But as with any fire, with wildfires it is important to know as early and precisely as possible that they exist, where they started, in which direction and at what speed they are spreading and how further spread can be limited or the fire at least controlled. Regular patrol flights over particularly vulnerable areas could help, for example, to detect potential ignition points early with thermal cameras. That is not a new finding, by the way. Back in 2019, the German Aerospace Center demonstrated in a project called Heimdal how drones equipped with optical cameras and thermal imaging sensors can detect even small-scale wildfire hot spots. And the technology has certainly not gotten worse since then.
But collecting data alone is not enough to prevent fires or at least detect them as early as possible.
Correct. The image data collected by uncrewed systems can be scanned for anomalies by staff in the control center or with the help of AI tools. Another possibility would be to station drones decentrally in hangars and send them fully automatically to potential incident sites in suspicious cases – for example if sensors previously installed in forests have detected conspicuous changes in the gas mixture in the air or other alerts have been received. On the basis of the information gathered, the responsible control centers can respond quickly, purposefully and in a structured way. Seven days a week, around the clock. And essentially wherever it seems useful. Outside wildfire season, the drones can also be used for other purposes or positioned at other locations.
If, despite all preventive measures, a fire does break out, how can drones help with active firefighting? Can uncrewed systems also extinguish fires?
In principle, that is of course possible. Especially when we think of uncrewed ground vehicles. At XPONENTIAL Europe this year, Alpha Robotics from Vechta showed corresponding systems, for example. Unmanned Aerial Systems also open up additional options for firefighting. Just as drones can be used to clean facades, water can also be discharged to fight flames. For example during fires in high-rise buildings, treetops or other hard-to-reach areas. But with enormous fires such as the current wildfires, such large quantities of extinguishing agents are needed that crewed helicopters or firefighting aircraft are significantly more efficient. For now. Because sooner or later there will certainly also be uncrewed systems with corresponding payload capacity that receive the required approvals and can take over the tasks of crewed aircraft. There are also ideas for deploying UAS swarms against larger fires. Basically like a bucket brigade, when many small amounts of water are meant to replace a large hose. If this only slows the further spread of fires or defends a safe protective zone for responders and civilians, a great deal would already be gained.
Safety and protection are good key words. In addition to their ecological consequences, major fires are also life-threatening. Both for rescue workers and for the civilian population.
Exactly. It does not necessarily have to be direct firefighting that uncrewed systems could take over. In addition to the prevention already mentioned, it is primarily questions of incident coordination and planning that can be answered better and more reliably with UxS. If I know which routes are still passable, people can be evacuated from danger zones more easily and responders can be guided to the scene. Which can also change quickly with shifting winds. If I know how many responders and which equipment are needed at a specific location, I can deploy the available resources in the best possible way. If – as in parts of Brandenburg, for example – forest areas on former military training grounds are contaminated by munition remnants, uncrewed ground vehicles and flying drones can move into areas that are too dangerous for people. Such systems can also be used excellently for resupply and for transporting injured people.
Sounds as if uncrewed systems are the solution for almost all problems.
That might be asking a bit too much. But one should simply keep in mind that drones actually open up enormous possibilities. The systems themselves are in fact more of a means to an end. Because only when UxS are sensibly integrated into process chains are they actually helpful. For example, when fires appear to be extinguished, they sometimes continue to smolder under the surface and when the wind picks up again, the embers are reignited. From a bird's-eye view, thermal anomalies can be located very precisely and georeferenced. And with UAS it can also be done quickly and cost-effectively. But one thing is the finding, another is a positive follow-up action. Only when firefighters or uncrewed ground vehicles ultimately ensure that the last embers are rendered harmless does the information collected by drone actually help. That is what I mean by new concepts and structures. We need to look at where uncrewed systems can help us and in what way. Not for its own sake because drones are exciting. But because they can make our lives safer, more convenient and more sustainable if we use them both sensibly and consistently.
