Turkey expands UAV use for early forest fire detection

Turkey's Forest General Directorate has increased the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with thermal cameras to detect forest fires before they spread. The fleet, now numbering 12 to 14 UAVs, conducts continuous patrols over high‑risk regions such as Bursa, Antalya, Muğla, İzmir, and other Aegean and Mediterranean provinces. Thermal sensors allow the drones to sense heat changes before visible smoke appears, enabling fire crews to intervene within minutes.

Live video and heat‑map data from the UAVs are transmitted to the national Fire Coordination Center in Ankara, where commanders can view the feeds on smartphones, command vehicles or at the coordination hub. This real‑time information lets fire officers direct resources to the precise location of a flare‑up, reducing the speed of fire spread. The director Bekir Karacabey emphasized, "Termal kameralar sayesinde yangını çok daha erken tespit edebiliyoruz," highlighting the system's early‑detection advantage. Turkey now ranks among the few countries worldwide that rely on UAVs for forest fire management, providing a technological shield for its extensive forested areas.