The US uses high technology to fight forest fires

According to experts, the best way to prevent catastrophic fires is to prevent them from spreading. But, it seems to be more difficult as global warming is contributing to more fires , especially in forests in the West. It is forecast that by 2050, forest fires will increase by more than 50%. As a result, authorities and experts are stepping up the use of high technology to combat widespread fires.

In the United States, the Forest Protection Department has set up tens of thousands of virtual fires with a variety of factors, from weather, terrain, to vegetation in computer models. "With these virtual fires, you can visualize a real fire (to know how to respond)," said Elizabeth Reinhardt, fire department supervisor at the Forest Protection Department.

At the same time, experts are deploying weather satellites, capable of capturing high-altitude storms as they begin to form, predicting the direction of the wind. In addition, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), capable of flying through a fire for hours, are also used for infrared photography of fires. These images are delivered to firefighters' Android operating systems, helping them find effective fire suppression.

At present, the US Forest Protection Service (FPD) is coordinating the use of software and custom applications for fire prevention and fighting. According to Laura L. Hill, IT specialist at the FPD, the unit hopes to leverage the cloud computing model to optimize computer models and databases. .

However, in burnt-out forests, there are often no cell towers to connect to the Internet when there is a fire. Therefore, the US Forest Service is installing multiple cell towers or linking to a local telephone company that allows firefighters to use small antennas to communicate with each other. Hill said another useful technology in preventing forest fires is the 'mesh network' - a wireless computer network that allows firefighters to share information internally. This technology has been used by the military, the Department of Homeland Security and the US Federal Emergency Management Agency.