Throughout the world, wildfires are becoming more destructive. You have fires throughout Canada, fires in Africa and Europe, and the countless fires here in the States, all of which burn through hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of acres each and every year. That's thanks to a number of variables, including climate change (yes, it's real), population increases, forestry management, and even urban sprawl entering what are normally wildland areas.
Who could've guessed that human encroachment into forests and fragile ecosystems at a time when years are getting hotter and drier would've been such a bad idea?
But while we absolutely need to address the above contributors to the larger and larger wildfires, i.e. maybe explore better prescribed burn activities, as well as increase the gap between human habitation and woodland areas instead of just building on the edges, we also need better practices in fighting said fires. We already have the hot-shot wildland firefighters who either drive into these infernos or parachute in, as well as the fleet of airplanes and helicopters designed to drop water and fire retardant onto said fires. Yet, all those involve risking the lives of those brave individuals.
Oregon, however, is looking into how it could use a drone in fighting wildfires, as well as reducing those risks. And the state's doing so with the help of Yamaha and its Fazer Sar helicopter drone. Did you know Yamaha made a drone, cause I sure didn't.
According to the press release sent out by the Oregon Department of Aviation, the state and Yamaha have signed a memorandum of understanding "to explore the potential use of Yamaha’s FAZER SAR unmanned helicopter for wildfire mitigation and suppression in the state of Oregon."
It furthers, "As wildfire seasons grow more intense and unpredictable, the need for innovative, flexible, and scalable tools becomes increasingly urgent. This partnership marks an important step in evaluating how beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can support rapid-response operations for small and emerging wildfires—especially in remote or high-risk regions."
Yamaha's Fazer drone is powered by a 2-cylinder, nearly 400cc gasoline engine, and carries a fuel tank that, with the optional larger tank, allows it to stay aloft for up to 6 hours. Max altitude is pegged at nearly 10,000 feet, while cruising range is around 372 miles. That said, it takes regular unleaded gasoline, so you could theoretically just land the drone at your nearest gas station, refuel, and you're back up and fighting fires.
Oregon's officials and firefighting crews can now begin testing the Fazer SAR drones, seeing what works, what doesn't, how it can interact with their current fire mitigation needs and services, and whether or not it's helpful in fighting fires going forward.
According to Kenji Sugahara, Director of the Oregon Department of Aviation, "This is a forward-looking collaboration to understand how aviation technology—especially uncrewed systems—can augment our wildfire response toolkit. While this MOU does not grant exclusivity or authorize operational deployment, it opens the door to collaborative testing, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory coordination."
As someone who's experienced a handful of wildfires living out west, it'll be interesting to see whether these make it into firefighters' hands, as I could see them becoming indispensable tools of the trade. But I ain't a wildland firefighter, so take my take with a grain of salt.
