Fire crews in Aspen, Colorado, are training to fly new drones like this one from manufacturer Seneca. They can carry and drop fire extinguishing foam.
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On a rare cloudy day in late summer, red and white fire trucks dot a grassy strip of land in the mountains of western Colorado.
A persistent hum rises and falls as several uniformed Aspen Fire Protection District personnel huddle around an iPad, watching one of their volunteer firefighters control a huge drone.
This machine, the first of its kind, looks like a giant insect. Black and white, with propellers attached to four large arms, it measures about 10 by 12 feet wide, about the size of a small U-Haul trailer.
While firefighters have used drones to monitor wildfires for decades, this new product could use artificial intelligence to help extinguish fires.
One of Seneca’s firefighting drones flies over private land outside Aspen, Colorado, on August 24, 2026. Once its personnel complete the training process, the Aspen Fire Protection District will be the first fire department in the country to operate the drones independently.
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Swarm Eye
Developed by California-based company Seneca, the drones are designed to operate in swarms. Like a small fire truck, five of them can carry 500 to 1,000 gallons of finished firefighting foam, and Aspen firefighters reported that they were easy to operate.
“We were joking that my 12-year-old son could fly these things,” said Andy Fisher, Aspen Fire deputy chief.
When Aspen Fire officially launches its new drone program next year, it will be the first fire department in the world to operate drones independently. So far, they have only been used on prescribed burns in California with the support of Seneca staff.
One of Seneca’s drones releases a stream of water during a training session outside Aspen, Colorado, on August 24, 2026.
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Fisher wants to send these drones to hard-to-reach fires, such as remote lightning strikes, before firefighters arrive. The city of Aspen, famous for housing billions of dollars in real estate, is surrounded by dense forests, like an expensive tinderbox with few evacuation routes for residents and visitors.
“If we could do it quickly, keep them small and attack them while they’re burning instead of waiting for the wind to pick them up, I think that’s the most ideal use case,” Fisher said.
According to Seneca founder Stuart Landesberg, drones can quickly negotiate steep or treacherous terrain and have a range of 5 to 10 miles (double that if empty).
When passing over a fire, they use an AI-backed “sensor array,” which can calculate distance and wind speed, and then release water or retardant at a specific angle and speed to extinguish the flames.
“You can think of it almost like it’s a flying Waymo,” he said.
But will they make a difference?
Landesberg said drones won’t replace air tankers on large fires, but they can transport tools, monitor ongoing fires and help extinguish persistent hot spots. Compared to helicopters, they could also make aerial firefighting more affordable.
“We can be the best option with a cost two orders of magnitude lower,” he said.
Aspen Fire says it will pay about $2.5 million over the next five years, with private donors covering the bill.
Before other fire departments across the country invest in this experimental technology, many are keeping an eye on Aspen to see how effective the drones can be.
Joe Stutler is a firefighter with nearly 60 years of experience, including decades as a wildfire incident commander. He is not affiliated with Aspen Fire or Seneca, and said he is a “huge advocate for the technology.”
He’s excited that drones can help fight fires at night, when manned aircraft are typically on the ground, and hopes they will reduce the risk to firefighters on the ground and in the air.
“If you look at how many wildland firefighters have died this year, some aviation accidents,” Stutler said. “We say, ‘Gosh, we really want a retardant or a drop of water here.’ … We transfer the risk to those people who fly those helicopters and those air tankers.”
But Stutler remains skeptical. Seneca has tested the drones on prescribed burns, not actual wildfires yet.
“I haven’t seen any results,” he said. “It’s one thing to make a claim and another thing to back it up with data.”
If he had access, Stutler said he would definitely test the new drones, but no matter how effective they prove, he still has to send firefighters into the field.
“I’ve seen very few times where a 3,000-gallon drop of water or a 5,000-gallon drop of retardant will actually put something out,” he said.
The FAA granted Aspen Fire a waiver in late October, and once training is complete, Fisher said the department could begin flying the drones up to 200 feet in Pitkin County.
Drones cannot fly over populated areas and someone has to watch them at all times. Firefighters can’t send a drone blindly over a ridge without someone perched on top of a mountain or on the other side to observe them and communicate with the pilots.
But if the drones prove useful, Aspen Fire hopes to expand the exemption and help fight fires across the state.
