The Interior Department has revealed that it flies an expanded drone air force of over 300 aircraft, and that they flew nearly 5,000 flights, with many to help fight forest fires.
“With a fleet of 312 unmanned aircraft, the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Office of Aviation Services flew nearly 5,000 missions in 2017 to support everything from fighting wildfires to monitoring dams and spillways and mapping wildlife,” bragged the department.
Not only has the number of aircraft operated by Interior grown, but the number of flights surged 82 percent, according to the report.
The drones were critical in guiding firefighters in several states where traditional aircraft couldn’t operate because of thick smoke.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the drone program “is a perfect example of leveraging technology to fight fires in safer and more efficient ways to ensure we are protecting the men and women on the fire line, members of the public, and local communities. Coupled with more aggressive fuels management, this technology will help prevent and control catastrophic wildfires.”
Most of the drone flights were in Oregon, where the Eagle Creek fire burned through 48,831 acres in the Columbia River Gorge.
They were used as far away as western Alaska.
“Adding drone support to fire suppression efforts could dramatically reduce the size and cost of wildfires, potentially saving millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of acres with triple the hours of critical aviation support,” said Jeff Rupert, acting director of the Office of Wildland Fire.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
