Firefighting drones capable of spraying water and fire retardant have been trialled in California and Alaska this summer, offering a potential rapid-response tool as climate change extends wildfire season across much of the United States to nearly year-round. Since drones are smaller and shorter-ranged than crewed aircraft, they cannot replace large airtankers on major blazes, but companies, fire agencies and the $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition are testing whether they can help crews catch small fires before they spread.

CAL FIRE tested five autonomous Argo-1 drones, made by California firm Seneca, which together deployed between 500 and 1,000 gallons of foam on 15 July; each drone carries about 100lb of payload, works in swarms of four to six, and can be redeployed within two minutes of refilling. Separately, German firm Dryad Networks trialled its Silvaguard system near Fairbanks, Alaska, pairing tree-mounted smoke sensors with observation and suppression drones that can deploy up to 26 gallons of retardant, all housed in solar-powered pods. Colorado's Aspen Fire Protection District has already committed roughly $5 million to adopt the technology, with wider deployment expected to be tested as wildfire seasons lengthen further.