Two drones are on test runs in Florida to scope out
firefighters on the ground and record prescribed burns from above.
Although drones aren’t yet utilized in Nassau County, the
Florida Forest Service has two drones that are sent out as part of a testing phase
elsewhere in the state, including Hernando County and the Withlacoochee
Forestry Center, according to FFS Wildfire Mitigation Specialist Robert Chase.
The project began in 2019.
“We believe the greatest potential for use of drones in the
Florida Forest Service to be in the realm of forest management activities such
as prescribed fire, monitoring timber sales and surveying forest landscapes for
forest health issues,” Chase said. “We anticipate using a drone for helping
with ignition on prescribed burns on our state forests. There are additional
attachments that we could also utilize that would allow us to do some thermal
imaging. This would be helpful in our mop-up phases to see where pockets of
heat may remain in a wildfire area, allowing us to better concentrate our
efforts. We hope to be able to utilize a drone locally in the future for those
activities.” Read More
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