Drones hunt fires hidden beneath Cairngorms

In Scotland's Cairngorms National Park, drones equipped with thermal imaging are being used to locate hidden underground embers, remnants of a large wildfire that raged in July. Although the visible flames have extinguished, hot spots beneath the surface can reignite.

Drone pilot Pete Short regularly reports finding up to eight active embers each week. The locations identified by the thermal camera, appearing as hot spots on screen, are then investigated on the ground. Scraping away soil can reveal smoke, indicating that fires are still smoldering below.

The original wildfire, which began in July and devastated approximately 33 square kilometers, necessitated swift action. During the fire, multiple drones were deployed to provide intelligence to firefighting agencies. The current challenge is to efficiently identify and extinguish the remaining, hidden hazards.

Local land managers, such as Ben Jones, senior site manager for the RSPB at Abernethy, utilize the drone data. This allows them to direct limited resources precisely where needed, preventing small embers from growing into larger fires, even with colder, wetter weather.

Despite the devastation, life is beginning to return to the affected forest. New green shoots and flowers are emerging from blackened tree trunks. However, the full ecological impact is still being assessed, and extinguishing the remaining underground fires is critical for the area's recovery.