Aspen Fire Protection District considering AI-powered drones to fight wildfire

Artificial intelligence might start to fight local wildfires. 

Drone company Fly Seneca will present in August to Aspen Fire Protection District — and agencies it partners with throughout the Roaring Fork Valley — on the wildfire-fighting capabilities of its AI-powered drones. The company was founded by Stuart Landesberg. 

The drones could carry a “payload” of water or retardant for a “rapid attack of a fire,” which they would use to fight and extinguish a burn, according to Aspen Fire. 

“These drones are unmanned,” said Aspen Fire Chief Rick Balentine, who will retire from 36 years of service on Friday. “You’re not risking anybody’s life to go potentially drop some water — spray some water on something.”

Balentine doesn’t yet know if Aspen Fire and other local agencies will pursue the AI-powered drone program. If they choose to, he said they would first implement a pilot program that would likely be privately funded. 

Snowmass Police Chief Brian Olson said Snowmass would support a program like this if the need arrives. 

“From a town perspective, I know that if there was a need for partnerships and stakeholders, that the town obviously would always look at ways to support fire suppression strategies,” Olson said, although he’s unable to confirm if the town would support the program financially or otherwise, as those decisions fall to Snowmass Town Council. 

Apart from a potential drone-powered fire suppression program, Aspen Fire and local agencies have been at the forefront of technology-driven fire mitigation. Balentine said they currently use drones that are not powered by AI to get closer visual inspections on wildfire and structural fires, which reduces the risk to firefighters because agencies can keep personnel from potentially dangerous fire investigations. 

Aspen Fire was also the first agency in the country to launch a Pano AI camera system, which can detect and analyze wildfire smoke to determine if there is a burn nearby. The cameras can also triangulate a fire’s coordinates for aircraft assistance. 

Launched in 2021, the district has cameras in use on the summits of Red Mountain and Aspen Mountain, by Aspen Village, and on Owl Creek Road near Snowmass. Balentine said there are also cameras downvalley, covering much of the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District, including Redstone. Balentine noted that participating agencies can use any of the cameras in the valley. 

The technology was used last week to identify a burn up Maroon Creek, which was then contained to a small area and extinguished through an interagency response thanks to early detection. 

Last year, Aspen Fire signed an intergovernmental agreement to partner with the city, Pitkin County, the town of Snowmass Village, and Roaring Fork Fire Rescue to fund the upvalley Pano AI camera system, according to Balentine. The first two years were funded by private donors, one of whom was Gerald Hosier, an Aspen Institute trustee.

Upvalley agencies are working with the Independence Pass Foundation to install a new camera on Independence Pass, which Balentine said is important given the remoteness of the area. 

“Especially with what’s happening right now with the federal government,” he said. “There’s less Forest Service people out there to actually catch wildfires and campfires.”

If implemented, the camera would be placed in the Lincoln Creek camping areas, which contains 22 dispersed campsites, said Karin Teague, executive director of the Independence Pass Foundation. 

Teague added that a fire in that area would be particularly detrimental as there is only one road in and out of the area, making it difficult to evacuate.

“It’s an excellent opportunity to catch a fire really early, before it gets out of control,” she said, “and that’s the best way to put a fire out, for sure.”

A private donor has already donated 75% of the required funding for an Independence Pass camera.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.