Emergency operations and other county businesses just gained a technological edge.
La Plata County recently purchased two unmanned aerial vehicles – drones – and have placed bids on a third, larger device to improve the efficiency of emergency management, be it flood mapping, tracking wildfires or carrying out summer’s common task of retrieving adventurers stranded on mountains and in waterways.
“These are really great tools to boost efficiency and safety. It’s an aerial platform, something we don’t have now,” said emergency management coordinator Tom McNamara. “Climbing a cliff, climbing a roof, walking around a fire with a GPS – we can do that from the air with no risk to a human being.
“It makes the inaccessible accessible.”
The DJI Inspire, a 1½-year-old model that costs $3,000 new, was purchased for about $2,000, and the second, a DJI Phantom 4, which came out in April, was purchased for $1,200. Their capabilities are the equivalent of cellphone cameras: they can shoot 4K ultra-high definition video and 16 megapixel still photographs from the air.
The smaller of the two models, the Phantom 4, runs about 30 minutes, while the Inspire has a 20-minute life.
Emergency management expects to pay about $6,000 for the third device, which will be a Matrice model able to carry 10 to 20 pounds – enough to deliver food, water, a GPS and radio to someone in distress.
In Southwest Colorado, where the wilderness calls to many, the drones are expected to be a key component of the county’s preparedness to handle the worst and unexpected.
Butch Knowlton, director of county emergency management, said the technology can detail a floodplain, guide someone out of an avalanche path or other dangerous terrain, and get footage beneath ledges and in eddies along rivers.
“We’ve had numerous people fall on the fourteeners,” Knowlton said, referring to mountains 14,000 feet or more in elevation. “You have to maintain a certain speed (in an aircraft) to stay in the sky. It’s inherently dangerous. The drone can get down in the rocks, which you can’t see if you’re flying over at that elevation. It will do a lot to help our searchers.”
Moreover, in some situations, the drones can replace helicopter flights, which cost the county $1,200 to $2,400 an hour.
The equipment is intended to be a cross-departmental tool to also help the county assessor, engineer, code enforcement, road and bridge department, fire protection district and Sheriff’s Office.
“We’re hoping to see gains in emergency management areas, like if lightning strikes a tree, we can send a drone out to investigate the problem,” Sheriff Sean Smith said. “In terms of criminal activity, we don’t anticipate doing anything without a search warrant. But we’d be able to do crime scene mapping with a drone as an investigative tool for reconnaissance.”
County commissioners will hold a meeting next month to solicit public feedback on policy to address privacy protection, data retention and terms of use for the new program.
“I know there will be a privacy concern there,” Commissioner Julie Westendorff said in a recent meeting. “I want to let people know on the front end, we’re respectful of privacy; some kind of outreach with public feedback before we consider the policy. I don’t want to have a room full of people concerned we’re going to be spying in windows.”
The county will not launch the drones in a professional capacity until related policy is in place. Until then, emergency management officials certified to pilot the devices are practicing on private property.
Last summer, the Federal Aviation Administration released new rules governing drones under 55 pounds, which loosened restrictions on who can pilot the machines in small, civil operations.
County staff interested in operating the drones are required to receive regulatory training through the FAA as well as practical training with the county on how to man the devices.
Emergency management has budgeted $40,000 for the program, including training and equipment, and is seeking exemptions from certain limitations the FAA imposes on the speed, altitude and range of drone operations as well as operational hours, which are restricted to daylight.
By the time 2017’s wildfires and other mishaps strike, emergency responders expect to have drones on their side to deal with them.
“We want to save lives, property and money,” McNamara said.
jpace@durangoherald.com
Weigh in on drones
Have thoughts on drone policy? La Plata County officials want public input as they craft new regulations to govern the use of drones, specifically on terms of use, privacy and data retention. There will be a public meeting 6-8 p.m. Jan. 10 at the County Administration Building, 1101 East Second Ave.
