Comment: Congress can add drones to fight against wildfires

By Paul Peterson / For The Herald

The old adage “Mother Nature is the great equalizer” rings particularly true in recent decades, as we’ve witnessed some of the most devastating weather and fire disasters in our nation’s history.

Washington state is no stranger to these tragic events: The Labor Day fires in 2020, which burned over 300,000 acres in a single day. The Carlton Complex fire in 2014, which destroyed more than 350 homes. The Okanogan Complex fires in 2015, which took three firefighters’ lives. From raging wildfires in the West to tornadoes in the heartland to hurricanes and flooding along the Eastern Seaboard, America has faced its share of natural challenges.

Thankfully, we benefit from the dedication of countless individuals who tirelessly work in disaster preparedness and emergency management. To effectively combat these natural disasters, these professionals deserve every tool available, including cutting-edge technology.

For example, wildland firefighters increasingly rely on uncrewed aircraft technologies for surveillance in remote, fire-prone areas, and as an essential “eye in the sky” that provides firefighters with live feeds, identify hotspots, and track the spread of flames. This technology not only enhances the safety of firefighting teams by reducing their exposure to hazardous conditions but also improves the efficiency of fire mitigation strategies during disaster events to properly manage resources, and protect firefighters’ lives.

Yet, the United States’ regulations need to be updated to take full advantage of the benefits these tools provide.

This year, Congress has the opportunity to address these shortcomings through the FAA Reauthorization process. We should call on our representatives in Congress including Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Rick Larsen — both of whom have leadership positions on aviation matters — to advance an FAA bill that would mark real progress toward enabling advanced drone operations, such as what has been developed in the Senate.

Wildfire response is a key use case for these drone aircraft capabilities. Drones can quickly and cost-effectively survey large and remote areas that may be prone to wildfires to identify land in need of attention before a fire breaks out. Rather than putting human lives at risk through challenging, low-altitude helicopter operations, which can and do result in deaths of first responders, a drone can collect necessary data at a fraction of the cost.

Trading 300 gallons of fuel burned per hour in a helicopter versus 300 grams in a drone, as some studies have put it, results in meaningful cost and environmental savings. During a wildfire event, drones can be used to provide real-time, high-resolution situational awareness to better manage incident response. And after firefighters have done the work of putting out the fire, drones are deployed to perform aerial surveys for damage assessment.

With Congressman Larsen’s leadership as the top Democrat on the Transportation Committee, the House passed its version in 2023, which includes specific direction to develop a pathway for expanded use of drones for wildfire mitigation in responsible ways that avoid crewed aircraft that may also be operating in the area.

More recently, with Sen. Cantwell chairing the Senate committee tasked with aviation matters, the Senate has put forward an FAA bill that would allow for even greater progress toward safe and routine advanced drone operations. Together, the construct of updating the FAA’s regulations from the Senate bill along with the provisions in the House bill to expand use of drones in wildfire mitigation would a long way to meeting the needs of our frontline emergency management heroes.

Congress, in collaboration with stakeholders in the uncrewed aircraft technology sector, has a golden opportunity to guide the regulatory changes that will allow drones to fully support the safety of our communities and elevate emergency management. As professionals in emergency management and fire mitigation, we advocate for the swift passage of an FAA Reauthorization bill that is built off the Senate bill’s approach on expanding advanced drone operations. Such legislation would provide our frontline workers with an effective and safe framework to operate these crucial tools, significantly enhancing our nation’s disaster response capabilities.

Paul Peterson is the executive director of the United Aerial Firefighters Association, which represents the Aerial Wildland Fire Industry (airtankers, scoopers, helicopters, retardant and aviation support) to local, state, federal agencies and Congress.