Corrected July 10 | Drones for fighting wildfires are taking off in many states, but federal agencies are caught up in regulation and procurement challenges. Lawmakers in Congress are set on changing that to advance unmanned aircraft in monitoring and even mitigating blazes in the forests.
Both the House and the Senate included language in their Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bills that would prod the agency to promulgate plans to expand the use of uncrewed aerial systems, more commonly known as drones, as well as open up federal lands for testing efforts — provisions that drone advocates say will better inform wildland firefighters of conditions without risking boots on the ground in volatile areas.
“Representing a Western district, I’ve heard from wildland firefighters and local governments firsthand about the need to better coordinate all aerial aspects of wildfire detection, prevention and suppression,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., who worked to include drone provisions in the House bill. “They have told me that the evolving technology of drones and other unmanned systems has already shown promise in firefighting, which is why I pushed language in this year’s FAA legislation to make it easier for them to operate safely and more effectively.”
