WASHINGTON, DC—The Forest Service is committed to its values and places highest importance on employee safety. That’s why we’re using unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, to reduce risk for Forest Service firefighters, land managers and aviation assets. 

“We’re talking about a new tool that we can introduce in the conversation on risk management,” said Dirk Giles, national UAS program manager.

Drones play a large role in the agency’s aviation program. In the case of aerial ignition, they can be used for reconnaissance and prescribed fires. The real value  is one of safety: the ability to send these aircraft into arduous terrain and low visibility situations in place of Forest Service employees.

To train future operators, the agency has created the UAS Aerial Ignition Academy. This four-day training course is split into both academic and hands-on training exercises. Instructors provide an introduction to drone flight procedures, payload orientation, maintenance, cleaning, concepts of firing, burn patterns and more.

Aerial ignition is the practice of dropping spheres from a payload. These spheres are chemical-filled plastic balls about the size of paintballs. Known as “dragon eggs,” they are filled with a chemical called potassium permanganate that causes them to ignite about 10 seconds after being injected with glycol. That injection happens before they are dropped. Based on the needs of land managers, drone pilots load spheres into the payload and fly patterns on the lands to perform prescribed fire missions under the direction of on-the-ground personnel. 

Prescribed fires are an example of a good fire,” said Justin Baxter, National UAS operations specialist. Prescribed fires are controlled burns used by land managers and firefighters to mitigate the possibility of larger wildfires from occurring. By clearing out dried grass, brush and low vegetation that can act as fuel or very flammable kindling in more controlled conditions, land managers can safely reduce wildfire risks.

The agency has performed aerial ignition for decades. This has traditionally been conducted from helicopters, but those flights can be risky, leading to crashes and fatalities. That’s why this drone aerial ignition program is so important. It provides an alternative that allows us to manage employee risk and exposure with technologies and new tools.

“From a risk leader perspective, it really allows us to fly in many different conditions,” explained Robert Trincado, director, National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center. Sending a drone out can supplement the need to use helicopter crews from flying low and slow to drop payloads, which can put crews at risk. Trincado added, “The UAS can patrol and scout lines that otherwise would have to [have] been flown by a helicopter or you would have to send a module [of firefighters] in to recon the area in advance.” 

In addition, with the use of infrared sensors, drones can fly through highly smoky situations or night flights providing reconnaissance and other aerial needed operations where helicopters could not.

This year marked the first aerial ignition academy. Pilots eligible to attend this course are already experienced drone pilots. They have earned certification in a series of building blocks courses, including their FAA remote pilot license, interagency training remote pilot courses and incident operations. After that, they must complete a series of courses from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group before being eligible for nomination to the aerial ignition academy. 

Pilots trained in the aerial ignition academy are a valuable resource that helps our agency live up to its commitment to firefighter safety. “Now we have a new tool to insert into that scenario of: maybe we should not be flying a helicopter or sending firefighters there,” said Giles.