JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. — “We use the drones to go into these really gnarly areas. This is pretty gnarly terrain. This is very steep, rugged terrain here…”
Three drones are helping firefighters battling the Klondike Fire.
“We have a larger type one drone; It is launched off the top of a mountain,” said Brentwood Reid, Public Information Officer for the Klondike Fire.
He says it’s the first fire they’ve had type one and type two drones on-call. The type one drone looks for spot fires and can map the fire. While the type two drones have cameras in addition to infrared cameras.
“They can look at what we can’t see with our eyes, especially when we have smoky conditions like we had the other day,” Reid said.
He says the drones have been a big help, especially in areas burned in previous fires like the Checto Bar and Biscuit Fires.
“If you look out here at the old Biscuit Fire scar, you’ll see all these gray trees,” Reid said. “A lot of them are black now.
Michael Nova, a firefighter working to control and improve the fire line, says hazards, like dead trees, called snags are all too common in this area.
“It’s also very hard on the individuals as we’re hiking in and out of this trying to retain your footing,” he said. “You’ve got some places out here where it drops off long, long ways…”
And extra air support whether its from drones or aircraft, makes a difference for the boots on the ground.
“It’s a wonderful tool that is really increasing our ability to get in and do some good on this fire,” said Nova. “And to be able to tell us what exactly the fire is doing cause sometimes you’re standing here and you don’t know what it’s doing one ridge over…so it’s our eyes in the sky.”
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