Across the Western U.S., swarms of unmanned drones drop exploding dragon eggs over arid landscapes with razor geospatial precision; these incendiary ping-pong balls, capable of sustaining flare-like ignitions, are revolutionizing the traditional Indigenous practice of controlling fire.
Indigenous communities in the West used prescribed burns to manage ecosystems, but these methods were largely abandoned with urbanization. Now, as Federal Wildland Firefighters and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) endure longer and more dangerous fire seasons, more communities recognize prescribed burns as essential for reducing wildfire risk. In 2025, fire management will be assisted by some offbeat aids.
Modernizing the USFS
Since 2019, the USFS has been amassing a fleet of drones to ignite prescribed burns, as well as to detect, prevent, and suppress wildfires. Joe Suarez, who has worked in the USFS fighting fires for over twenty years, said he’s “never seen anything just take leaps and bounds in moving us forward [like drones have].”
The USFS currently leverages just shy of one hundred drones coast to coast, predominantly designed by Freefly and modified by Drone Amplified for fire-specific use. The Freefly Alta X model that dominates the USFS fleet was originally designed for cinematography purposes: to fly heavyweight movie cameras in extremely precise patterns. But the drone itself is robust enough to be repurposed for the frontlines.
The Drone Amplified aerial ignition system for prescribed burns is a payload dropper equipped with ‘dragon eggs’ (containing reactive chemicals which ignite upon deployment). UAS technicians can program the payload to drop eggs in spatial or temporal intervals, and ignite a series of flare-like sustained flames. Using the onboard GPS, they can spatially design burns and monitor progress in realtime.
A dragon egg ignites, November 2022
Suarez was initially unsure if wildland firefighters would readily adapt to using drones. “[In the fire community] we talk about ‘the way that we've always done things,’” Suarez said. “Inherently wildland firefighters aren't into any sort of technology anyways, right? They're hunters... they like being outdoors. And so the things behind the screens they don't really gravitate towards.”
However, when thousands of Americans die in fires each year - including over 80 firefighters - the prospect of increasing safety drove the Federal Wildland Firefighters to adopt drone technology rapidly. 90% of prescribed fires now have one drone performing all aerial ignition.
Saving Lives
Drones can protect aviators as well as boots-on-the-ground firemen. Historically, helicopters and fixed wing planes have been integral to suppressing wildfires. But to do so, they have to fly in ‘low and slow profile’ - below 500 feet and under one hundred knots. Flying low and slow over fires is a necessary but incredibly risky job, as thermals over a fire create unpredictable turbulence for aircrafts. Drones, on the other hand, are made to hover.
Infrared (IR) cameras on drones can read conditions through thick clouds of smoke, and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) can create detailed 3D maps of landscapes to identify fire breaks and topographies. “[Previously] we would have to hike for hours and hours to gain that situational awareness of what was out ahead of us,” Suarez said. “In these situations, drones can prevent individuals from twisting an ankle as they’re out a hundred feet off the line or blowing out a knee or, in the worst case scenario, dying.”
UAV LiDAR technology is transforming operational forest management, August 2021.
A Transition in Specialized Labor
The USFS, in collaboration with CAL FIRE, is hosting national UAS academies to expand its specialized force of drone pilots. Their hope is to double the trained personnel able to utilize drone technology. But Suarez isn’t sure that the upcoming generation will gravitate towards wildland fire and working for the federal government: "they see opportunities to make money in different ways, or even in private industry. Our pay is not comparable to other career paths.”
Meanwhile, the replacement of helicopters and fixed wings by drones eliminates the need for those respective aerial teams. “So three people,” Suarez counted, “have now gone away with the drone that can go out and do that job by itself.”
Automation is a pressing global debate. But in this case, drones can reduce the need for labor in high-risk jobs. Drones in the USFS are taking over aerial missions over large scale prescribed burns that would previously have been run by helicopters in ‘low and slow’ profile. Suarez said in this situation, “we’ve taken away risk to the helicopter pilot, the firing boss in the helicopter, and the operator of the [payload dropper] that's in there.”
As technology inevitably transforms the fire fighting industry, it will be important to uplift Indigenous voices, whose traditional practices the USFS draws from. In October 2024, a company called ZenaDrone signed a joint venture agreement with Night Sun, a Native American corporation, that plans to distribute fire-fighting drones to tribes across the U.S. Further partnerships like the one between ZenaDrone and Night Sun will ensure equity of new technology, while honoring its roots of practice.
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Sophia is a senior and concurrent coterm in Earth Systems from the Santa Cruz mountains of Northern California. Her studies focus on ocean ecology, aquaculture and fisheries science. She is an avid traveler and a humble poet.
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