Two drones are on test runs in Florida to scope out firefighters on the ground and record prescribed burns from above.
Although drones aren’t yet utilized in Nassau County, the Florida Forest Service has two drones that are sent out as part of a testing phase elsewhere in the state, including Hernando County and the Withlacoochee Forestry Center, according to FFS Wildfire Mitigation Specialist Robert Chase. The project began in 2019.
“We believe the greatest potential for use of drones in the Florida Forest Service to be in the realm of forest management activities such as prescribed fire, monitoring timber sales and surveying forest landscapes for forest health issues,” Chase said. “