VIDEO: Youโre probably not thinking about wildfires with all of the snow and ice this week, but theyโre always top of mind for South Dakota Wildland Fire.
Itโs never a bad idea to have an extra set of eyes in the sky.
Around the Spring of 2022, South Dakota Wildland Fire launched its unmanned aerial systems program to help fight wildfires.
Michael Reed with SDWF said the drones have been a game changer.
The technology helps the agency locate hot spots during a fire and provide a great helping hand to crews on the ground.
โUtilizing UAS in conjunction with Infrared is, we can see a lot of times, we can see this heat and weโre able to map that and we can provide that map to the boots on the ground,โ said Reed. โNow they have an exact location to go to.โ
The technology can also come in handy in investigating the cause of fires. Thanks to the drones, they weโre able to solve a case involving trees contacting a power line.
