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How many would we need to be more effective? Perhaps a small swarm could be used? The yearly forest fires in California seem to be difficult to control. A ro

How many would we need to be more effective? Perhaps a small swarm could be used? The yearly forest fires in California seem to be difficult to control. A robotic army of firefighters might help?

lm28469 8y ago
Forest fires are part of the natural life of forests, trying to stop them is counter productive, the more you delay them the more fuel there is to burn (accumulation of fuel: dead plants, dead trees, &c.) Not everything has to be fixed by technology and controlled by humans. https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-forest-fires-play-an-essential-role-in-natural-cycles-of-plants-wildlife/70004340 https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-forest-fires...
- melling 8y ago
  Then why do we send in firefighters? I didn't say we should stop the forest fires, I said we want to control them. Almost 100 people died in California last year and there was $3.5 billion in damage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_California_wildfires https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_California_wildfires
  - lm28469 8y ago
    Yes we do try to control them, but that's a last resort, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EodxubsO8EI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EodxubsO8EI Same problem with Texas and floods, Florida and hurricanes, &c. building in risk zones is inherently dangerous. The people who died knew the risks.
- username223 8y ago
  Unfortunately, it's not that simple. For example, decades of fire suppression created unnatural forests, with more deadfall and closer, smaller trees, that burn more intensely than natural ones. Thanks to global warming, bark beetles have killed vast swathes of forest in the western United States. And people live near those forests, and expect the fire department to protect their houses. It can't all be fixed and controlled, but "letting nature take its course" would have disastrous consequences at this point.

How many would we need to be more effective? Perhaps a small swarm could be used? The yearly forest fires in California seem to be difficult to control. A robotic army of firefighters might help?

lm28469 8y ago

Forest fires are part of the natural life of forests, trying to stop them is counter productive, the more you delay them the more fuel there is to burn (accumulation of fuel: dead plants, dead trees, &c.) Not everything has to be fixed by technology and controlled by humans. https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-forest-fires-play-an-essential-role-in-natural-cycles-of-plants-wildlife/70004340 https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-forest-fires...

melling 8y ago
Then why do we send in firefighters? I didn't say we should stop the forest fires, I said we want to control them. Almost 100 people died in California last year and there was $3.5 billion in damage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_California_wildfires https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_California_wildfires
- lm28469 8y ago
  Yes we do try to control them, but that's a last resort, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EodxubsO8EI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EodxubsO8EI Same problem with Texas and floods, Florida and hurricanes, &c. building in risk zones is inherently dangerous. The people who died knew the risks.
username223 8y ago
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. For example, decades of fire suppression created unnatural forests, with more deadfall and closer, smaller trees, that burn more intensely than natural ones. Thanks to global warming, bark beetles have killed vast swathes of forest in the western United States. And people live near those forests, and expect the fire department to protect their houses. It can't all be fixed and controlled, but "letting nature take its course" would have disastrous consequences at this point.