April 24th, Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China - Wildfire Rescue Case Study

On April 24, 2023, a forest fire broke out in Aizigou, Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

　 　I. Basic Situation

　　On April 24, 2023, a forest fire broke out in Aizigou, Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The weather changes greatly in the morning and evening, with winds generally reaching level 6 at night. Affected by strong winds, the fire spread gradually. Due to the high mountains and steep slopes, with a mountain slope of mostly above 70 degrees, the difficulty of extinguishing the mountain fire and rescue was enormous.

　　 II. Rescue Operation

　　Chongqing Zhongyue Aviation Equipment Intelligent Manufacturing Co., Ltd., at the dispatch of the Sichuan Provincial Forest Fire Brigade, dispatched one ZY-15 rapid response pickup UAV equipment vehicle, one UAV transport vehicle, one UAV command vehicle, two ZY-XF100 100kg fire-fighting UAVs, two ZY-XF50 50kg fire-fighting UAVs, one reconnaissance UAV, more than 40 ejection-type dry powder fire extinguishing bombs, water-based pressurized fire extinguishers, and other operating consumables, rushing thousands of miles overnight to the disaster area for rescue.

 

 

(Picture: Forest fire scene)

　　(I) Rescue operation of stable surface fire

　　(1) Basic process

　　After the rescue team arrived at the fire scene, they used a reconnaissance UAV to conduct reconnaissance of the fire scene and selected the Yalong River along-river highway 5 kilometers away from the fire point as the UAV takeoff point.

　　After judging the real-time situation of the fire scene, this mountain fire was a stable surface fire. The on-site commander used the ZY-XF100 heavy-duty fire-fighting UAV to carry two 50kg dry powder fire extinguishing bombs (100kg in total), flew across the Yalong River to accurately drop and extinguish the fire on the mountainside. After the dry powder bombs exploded in the air, they covered the fire point in a fan shape, effectively isolating the air and controlling the fire, confining the fire to a certain range. After the fire was controlled, two ZY-XF50s continued to carry dry powder fire extinguishing bombs for ejection operations, controlling the flanking fire points. After eight takeoffs and landings for ejection operations, five fire points were effectively extinguished, preventing the fire from spreading.

 

 

(Picture: ZY-XF100 carrying high-ejection dry powder fire extinguishing bombs)

 

 

(Picture: UAV beyond-visual-range ejection of dry powder fire extinguishing bombs)

 

 

(Picture: Ground station perspective of UAV dry powder bombs hitting the fire point)

 

 

(Picture: ZY-XF50 carrying ejection-type dry powder fire extinguishing bombs)

 

 

(Picture: ZY-XF50 takeoff operation)

 

 

(Picture: UAV rescue completed and returned)

　　(2) UAVs and supporting equipment

　　The operation to extinguish the stable surface fire used the Guardian ZY-XF100 heavy-duty fire-fighting and rescue UAV and ejection-type dry powder fire extinguishing bombs.

　　①Guardian ZY-XF100 heavy-duty fire-fighting and rescue UAV

 

 

　　②Ejection-type dry powder fire extinguishing bombs

 

 

　　(II) Cliff fire rescue operation

　　(1) Basic process

　　During the ejection of dry powder bombs, the UAVs discovered several fire points burning on cliffs. The on-site commander used the ZY-XF50 heavy-duty fire-fighting UAV to carry water-based pressurized fire extinguishers and telescopic spray booms to spray fire extinguishing agents on the cliff fire points that rescue personnel could not reach. After four takeoffs and carrying operations, three cliff fire points were effectively extinguished, preventing the fire from spreading.

　　(2) UAVs and supporting equipment

　　The cliff fire was handled using the Zhongyue Aviation Fiery Tyrant ZY-15 UAV rapid response pickup equipment vehicle, the Guardian ZY-XF50 heavy-duty fire-fighting and rescue UAV, pressurized water-based fire extinguishers, and telescopic nozzles.

　　 Zhongyue Aviation Fiery Tyrant ZY-15 UAV rapid response pickup equipment vehicle

 

 

　　Guardian ZY-XF50 heavy-duty fire-fighting and rescue UAV

 

 

　　 Zhongyue Aviation pressurized fire extinguisher kit

 

 

　　III. Summary of the Battle

　　In this mountain fire rescue operation, twelve UAVs were launched, eight 50kg fire extinguishing bombs were dropped, and pressurized water-based fire extinguishers were sprayed four times. A total of eight fire points were extinguished.

　　This rescue operation fully demonstrated the excellent mobility and flexibility of UAVs, allowing them to quickly reach the fire scene through complex terrain and topography. The ‘small, early, and fast’ fire extinguishing strategy was adopted for precise fire extinguishing, effectively controlling the spread of the fire. UAV fire extinguishing operations were carried out in the early stages of the fire and when personnel could not arrive in time. In particular, the use of multi-aircraft cluster operations quickly extinguished the fire in its early stages, preventing the fire from getting out of control.