The Council of Tenerife added three new drones to the campaign against forest fires with two types of built-in cameras, one traditional and the other thermal, which are thus added to control tasks.
The use of these new equipment in the north fire It has become a very important tool in situations such as monitoring the fire at night or when daytime conditions prevent the normal performance of aerial means, allowing inaccessible points to be reached during reconnaissance tasks.
It is not the first time that drones have been used to control forest fires in Tenerife. The UME was the pioneer during the Arico forest fire in May 2021. Likewise, drones were key in monitoring the volcano of La Palma and “the eyes of scientists” came to fly less than 100 meters from the cone, and only 40 of the lava flows.
These tools with a thermographic camera had their baptism in the attack that affected two hectares of dry area in Santiago del Teide. The acquired drones are small in size and can be transported on foot by their operators to the observation point, achieving accurate and real-time information on the situation of the various sources of the fire, and taking on special importance in the safety of the personnel who works on land. The combination of the three drones allows for at least 15 night flights, of about 20 minutes each, especially in the steepest areas that are not reached by land resources. Its usefulness is also very valid in search and rescue operations for people as the thermal camera can be used.
When there are brigades of personnel on the ground in a defense line, any evolution of a hot spot can be critical, so the drone and its cameras -conventional and thermal- are capable of perfectly appreciating the distance at which any danger is found that can exist and be controlled.
In addition, it allows to better locate and coordinate the human and material resources in the extinction work. Therefore, it is necessary to evolve in the provision of material and adapt to the new possibilities offered by technology.
