Summary
United Utilities has deployed thermal imaging drones to scan moorland in Greater Manchester and Derbyshire for lingering pockets of heat that could reignite, particularly in peatland where fire can burn underground. The move follows weeks of firefighting efforts involving multiple agencies including the RSPB, Derbyshire Mountain Rescue and Peak District National Park, with helicopters making 2,000 trips and distributing over 20 million litres of water during the peak of the blazes.
The utility has trained team members as drone pilots to fly across remote locations and provide GPS coordinates of hotspots to ground crews operating in challenging terrain. The technology allows firefighting efforts to be more targeted and efficient, speeding up the process of identifying areas needing attention without teams having to spend hours manually scanning large moorland areas.
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Common questions
- What is this article about?
- United Utilities is using heat-seeking drones to detect underground hotspots on moorlands across Greater Manchester following recent fires, allowing teams to target resources more precisely. The technology will also be used for ongoing environmental monitoring and infrastructure assessments.
- When was this published?
- This article was published on 21 August 2026.
- Who published this article?
- This article was published by Prolific North.