Firefighting drones head to Aspen—can they suppress a blaze before humans arrive?
Seneca's drones carry foam, fly at night, and don't need an on-site pilot.
A Bay Area startup that manufactures drones to tackle wildfires has just signed its first customer, the Aspen Fire Protection District.
The company, Seneca, recently announced that its fleet of five drones (dubbed a “strike team”) would be coming to the famed Colorado ski town this summer, making Aspen the first wildfire agency in America to add these types of aircraft to its arsenal.
Each drone is designed to carry enough water “to create over 50 gallons of finished foam suppressant,” which can reduce the speed at which a wildfire consumes fuel. The drones are designed to be able to reach and extinguish a small fire before humans can.