Wildlife Service to use drones to avoid fires
Drones are to be used by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to manage the risk of wildfires.
If the pilot initiative in the Dublin Mountains is a success, the technology will be extended to other areas.
Drones can be equipped with infrared cameras that peer through smoke, as well as sensors for wind direction and other weather variables that affect how fires spread.
They will capture continuous footage of areas deem as high-risk and spot small fires that otherwise could not have been detected until they had become much larger and harder to contain.
Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht Minister Josepha Madigan said there is a huge environmental loss resulting from forest fires.
The drones will be able to help establish firebreaks, keep wildfires from spreading and reduce the risk of environmental damage
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Pat Neville, Coillte Communications Manager, said the drones will become “our eyes in the skies and enable our teams to spot the earliest moment a fire starts, helping to save not only the environment but most importantly people’s lives.” Last year, Coillte tackled over 150 forest fires with the largest and most dangerous of these incidents occurring on the Slieve Blooms in Laois and Offaly.
Over 600 hectares of the Coillte estate was damaged by forest fires, costing the State over €4 million to manage.
The NPWS and Coillte are urging people to remain vigilant and report any fires they see to the local fire brigade.
Orange high fire risk warnings have recently been issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
