Wildfires in terms of unmanned systems. Current methods and solution review

Abstract

The analysis of the literature shows that numerous factors, such as Climate change, more and more frequent and long-lasting droughts, and the growing trend of using forests for recreational purposes, cause a constant increase in the risk of forest fires. Poland, despite having numerous and vast forest areas in the form of national or landscape parks, is classified as having an average risk of fire compared to other European countries. Currently, our country is characterized by the emergence of a large number of forest fires within a small area. In 2019, there were almost 9,200 such events, which put Poland in third place in Europe (behind Spain and Portugal). It should be noted, however, that large-scale forest fires with an area of several hundred hectares have occurred and are still a threat in Poland. Therefore, it has been proposed to use a proactive method to limit or compensate for the effects of hazards caused by large-scale fires, which are of key safety, environmental and economic importance. In the article, the authors focused on the presentation of the currently used solutions and compensation for the effects of these threats and presented possible prospective solutions based on the conducted and planned scientific research on monitoring large-scale fires and the possibility of forecasting them during operational activities, based on unmanned systems and techniques and satellite technologies.