Los Angeles fire department using surveillance drones to help fight wildfires

(December 11) The horrible fires over Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura counties that have destroyed over 500 structures and forced over 200,000 to flee is now being surveyed by drones which can track the path of the fire and survey damaged property.

Los Angeles Fire Dept. using drones

Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Ralph Terrazas said at a recent news conference: “For the first time ever, we’re going to use our drones,"

Shortly after Terrazas' remarks, a firefighter launched one of two quadcopters and flew it over the adjacent Skirball fire. The fire destroyed at least six mansions in the luxurious Bel Air area.

As can be seen from the attached video, the drones give a clear detailed view of the fire damage from their excellent cameras.

The drones also gave the firefighters information on remaining hotspots and a view of the exact path of the fire.

Although the Skirball fire is tiny compared to many other wildfires burning in the LA area, it nevertheless provided a good test run for the drones as it is near homes and the 405 freeway. It showed how much detail the drones can see.

There were two tests each lasting about a half hour.

Special waivers needed to launch drones

The emergency services need to get a special certificate from the FAA. They apply for "Certificates of Waiver or Authorization" for specific missions. This is necessary to avoid violating rules restricting the use of the drones and the emergency services are bound by these rules just as are commercial enterprises.

Drones soon pay for themselves

Although the department spent $50,000 for 8 drones, the drones eliminate the need to rent infrared cameras that are attached to helicopters. The helicopter flights equipped with cameras have very steep operating costs compared to the drones.

According to Dronefly a vendor of these drones, 347 different public services bought drones from 2009 to 2017. Sixty nine were fire departments.

London firefighters used a drone during the Grenfell Tower blaze last June to get a good idea of where the flames were spreading and where residents might be trapped.

Ordinary fixed wing planes sometimes cannot operate against southern California fires

At times the Santa Ana winds are so strong that fixed wing planes cannot operate. The job of dropping fire retardant falls to helicopter pilots. The giant Boeing 747 SuperTanker is often not of much use given the weather and the terrain.

Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, and Aurora Flight Sciences are developing autonomous helicopters who might be able to do some of the work that piloted helicopters do now.

Flying cars

Added to the mix of drones and autonomous helicopters there may be flying cars.

Firefighters around the world are watching as vertical takeoff and landing vehicles are being developed.

Others are interested in their development as well. The vehicles will be great for shuttling people around cities. They would be useful in emergencies and would circumvent traffic jams. They could also airlift victims from burning buildings to hospitals. They would have lower operating costs than helicopters and simpler controls.

Wired takes a look at some 10 different flying car concepts in development. It may be some time before any of these are commercially viable and regulations exist governing their use.

Previously published in Digital Journal

against-california-wildfires/article/509664#ixzz51r4s0a00

Lack of rain in Southern California creates dangerous fire conditions

(December 6) Southern California is experiencing the worst fire season on record with a warm dry fall and very strong offshore winds. The situation may get worse as a dome of high-pressure air is forming above the West Coast that could keep the area dry for weeks.

A large fire called the Thomas Fire started in the foothills of Ventura County last Monday evening. The fire has devastated over 65,000 acres and caused 27,000 people to flee. New fires including one in the rich Bel-Air area of Los Angeles also recently broke out as described in a Digital Journal article.

Another recent article notes that the fires have led to the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people from threatened areas.

Hot dry winds are not abnormal in southern California but lack of rain is

The hot dry Santa Ana winds that blow as high as 70 miles per in southern California aren't that unusual for this time in early December according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California in Los Angeles. The winds start in the fall and continue throughout the winter.

What is unusual this year is a lack of rain. Swain says: "By this time of year, usually, there’s been some rain that’s wetted things down. It’s just as dry as it was in the summer months.”

The state of California gets most of its rain from October through to May, as strong winds in the upper atmosphere cause storms to roll in from the Pacific Ocean. By this time, Los Angeles an area where there are many fires usually should have had about two inches of rain. So far it has only about 5 percent of that, just a tenth of an inch.

In Northern California there have been many rain showers. National Weather Service meteorologist David Sweet describes the Burbank area as quite parched.

The atmospheric ridge in Southern California

The storms carried in by the jet stream from the Pacific can be diverted if there are high-pressure bubbles of warm air. These are called an atmospheric ridge. This is what is causing the present dry spell in southern California.

Swain notes that an even larger ridge is forming along the entire West Coast of the US. Rainfall could be shunted into Canada or even Alaska. Swain claims: “We were dry before and now the prospects for rain look even less likely because of the size of this thing.”

Atmospheric ridges a recurring problem

An atmospheric ridge has been over California for three winters in a row, creating a record-setting drought lasting five years now.

Swain said the real question was how long the ridge remained over the area. During the drought the ridges had lasted for months at a time. Swain says the ridges are becoming more common with global warming according to a study he and others did in 2016.

As the polar ice melts, there is a chain reaction that in the end helps these atmospheric ridges form and ultimately keep rain from falling over Southern California according to recent research led by Ivana Cvijanovic of the Lawrence National Laboratory.

However, Civijanovic cautions readers that the study is not a prediction as many other factors can influence what happens in the future. Another recent study suggests that California could become wetter.

For now the weather predictions for more windy weather means firefighters have a long battle ahead of them. What is needed is for enough rain to douse the flames and turn things green again.

Previously published in Digital Journal