The Aspen Fire Protection District has become the first US agency to deploy a fleet of firefighting drones from startup Seneca. These drones are designed to carry foam suppressant and reach remote fires within a 3-5 mile range faster than human crews, acting as an early suppression resource. This initiative addresses the challenge of increasingly longer and more destructive wildfire seasons.
Background
Wildfires are becoming larger, more frequent, and more destructive across the US, with fire seasons now 78 days longer than in the 1970s. This has spurred the development of 'firetech' startups creating new solutions for fire prevention and suppression.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Mar 17, 2026 at 09:10 PM
- Score
- 6.0 / 10