Wildfires and other fire incidents

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Summer wildfires caused catastrophic hidden damage, scientists warn

13 September 2026

Scientists investigating the damage caused by severe wildfires across Wales this summer say the impact has been "catastrophic".

Extreme heat and exceptionally dry conditions throughout July and August left landscapes such as heathland, moorland and upland grasslands vulnerable to fast spreading fires, resulting in one of the UK's worst wildfire seasons in recent years.

Prof Davey Jones, who is leading a Bangor University survey of several sites across Wales, said the scale of damage was far greater than what was immediately visible.

"People see the blackened vegetation and assume that's the main impact, but the real story is below our feet," said Jones.

[...]

"We've probably lost about 10 centimetres of soil here [at Sychnant Pass] so we've lost all of that organic matter layer... 4,000 years of carbon gone in a single event," he said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn07rzrq244o



Bangor University

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Drones Are Already on the Front Lines of Wildfire Response. Robots and AI Could Be Next.
By Mosabber Hossain
September 29, 2026

Introduction:

(Inside Climate News) During the Sand Creek Fire, which has burned since the start of August in southwestern Montana, difficult terrain and fire-weakened trees posed hazards to crews searching for areas still smoldering on steep slopes after the blaze passed. So instead of relying only on firefighters to find hidden embers, fire managers used unmanned aircraft to seek out heat sources.

The operation is part of a broader technological shift underway in wildfire response. The U.S. Forest Service is evaluating firefighting robots on the ground, and researchers are exploring how artificial intelligence could help predict where wildfires will ignite and how quickly fires will spread. Federal agencies already use drones to map fires, detect hotspots and ignite prescribed burns, and are testing their capability to drop firefighting foam and water on blazes.

“Drones are now a critical tool in federal wildfire response, providing real-time infrared imagery to map fire perimeters, detect hotspots, and monitor dangerous or inaccessible terrain, which helps firefighters make safer, faster tactical decisions,” said Meredith Hollowell, a Forest Service press officer, in a statement to Inside Climate News.

The Federal Aviation Administration said drones provide real-time situational awareness by detecting hotspots, mapping fire perimeters and aiding firefighter efforts in dangerous environments.

The article also discusses ground robots, autonomous ground vehicles, use of drone-collected data to predict how quickly a fire will spread and to predict spread of smoke.

Read more here: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/290 ... -future

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