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An idea for attacking a wildfire. [1]
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Date: 2025-01-09
My daughter had to evacuate in LA for a day because of the Sunset Fire. I have been closely watching the fire situation down there because of that and her proximity to the other fires destroying the area. My brother also lost everything in the Paradise CA, Camp fire. (Also, when I was about 12 or so our home suffered heavy damage from a fire.)
In addition I have been keeping a pretty close eye on the Ukraine war and some of the drone technology that has developed because of it. It occurred to me that it might be possible to use some of that drone technology to help extinguish wildfires.
A baba yaga drone can carry about 33 pounds (over four gallons of water). If you were to have a swarm of baba yaga drones carrying four gallons of water each into rugged terrain, they might be able to do more effective damage to the leading edge of a fire than say a bucket drop from a helicopter. They could also be more accurate and methodical in the attack.
They would be able to not just drop the water randomly but target for instance a burning bush or other hotspot. After watching a fire advance through a grassy area it seems like attacking that advancing edge with drones could make a difference in a large conflagration as well. I also envision the drones attacking the understory rather than trees already engulfed in flame. My vision is that they would use a stream of pumped water at a safe distance which is controlled by pilots in a mobile control center (truck). That mobile control center could be nearby the fire with a water tender for refills so that speed was optimized and danger mitigated.
What do you think? I have no expertise in this area but it seems like a good idea to try.
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