DRONE IMAGING APPLICATIONS FOR FIRE ECOLOGY, WILDFIRE HAZARD MITIGATION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE: A REVIEW OF PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND FUTURE APPLICATIONS

Climate change factors, extensive land-use patterns and vegetation ecological shifts are increasing severe wildfire prevalence and wildfire risks to people globally. New interdisciplinary ecosystem science and geoscience research efforts are needed to understand how land management strategies can mitigate wildfire hazards across a variety of professional sectors, including forestry, rangeland science, open space conservation and urban landscaping. During extreme fire and post-fire flooding events, improving the timeliness and accessibility of hazard communication is critical for both public safety and first responders managing emergency situations.

Since the 2017 Thomas Fire and January 2018 debris flows in Montecito, California, drone-based remote sensing (sUAS) has played key roles in informing post-fire landscape assessment and new ecosystem science for wildfire hazard mitigation in Santa Barbara, CA. Here, we highlight how drone-based vegetation mapping has led to new insights on grazing strategies for fuels reduction, the performance of shaded oak fuel breaks as natural infrastructure for protecting communities from wildfire, and prescribed fire planning strategies. From these projects, we pose an agenda for future drone applications for wildfire hazard mitigation and hazard communication to the public as part of climate change adaptation strategies in wildfire-prone landscapes.