Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in accordance with a plan approved by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, to, among other things, provide fire prevention and firefighting implements and apparatus and organize fire crews and patrols, as provided.
This bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to establish a pilot project to equip the state with the nation's first testbed firefighting helicopter equipped with autonomous aerial suppression technology and the associated configuration, familiarization, and training activities to transition the aircraft into operational use. The bill would also require the department to invite local, state, tribal, and federal fire agencies to participate in those familiarization and training activities. The bill would require the department to convene, within 60 days of completion of the pilot project, leading fire professionals in California to assess the performance of the pilot project and, if the pilot project meets its objectives, determine how to incorporate autonomous aerial suppression technology into existing state wildfire mitigation efforts. The bill would include related legislative findings.