Focus on Uncrewed Aerial Systems

Mapping the Blaze: How the U.S. Forest Service Uses Drones for Fire Management

As part of forest and land management practices, U.S. government agencies have conducted controlled—or prescribed—burns, setting planned portions of the landscape on fire to thin undergrowth that could fuel wildfires and promote new forest growth. This work is important, but it’s also dangerous. To lessen the risks to humans working in fire management, the U.S. Forest Service has been working for the past five years to create an uncrewed aircraft system to carry out its mission.