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Tue, 04 Aug 2026

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 Could tech replace firefighters in the battle against wildfires?

Tech is being used to watch for wildfires but firefighters are still needed to put them out.

* Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes across France, Spain and Portugal due to devastating wildfires.
* Four men have lost their lives fighting the wildfires in France, with another 150 injured.
* The use of drones for firefighting has not yet reached a practical stage, according to firefighters.
* New technology using cameras assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to detect fires earlier and more accurately, reducing false alarms and improving response times.
* These cameras can detect fires up to 20km away and alert firefighters to the location of the fire.
* The cost of installing these systems varies, with one company spending €1.2m to cover an area of 6,000 sq km in France.
* Other companies are developing drones that can drop water or chemical powder to extinguish fires, but these are still in the experimental stage.
* Researchers are also working on drones that can fly close to flames to gather information about the fire before firefighters move in.