Near York, Montana, where the Big Belt Mountains rise above the high plains, drone operators are dropping thousands of tiny plastic spheres into the winter air—each one a carefully engineered ignition device that will transform forest management in America's toughest terrain.
The US Forest Service has embraced uncrewed aircraft systems to conduct prescribed burns across the Northern Rockies, a strategy born from necessity and enabled by technology. Prescribed burning is essential work: planned fires clear dangerous fuel buildup, restore ecosystem health, and dramatically reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. But lighting these controlled fires in steep, remote terrain has always demanded firefighters trudge miles through rugged country laden with heavy equipment, dodging falling trees and loose rock. This February, with unusually low snowpack creating ideal conditions, the Forest Service seized the opportunity to test a solution.
The drones—including the Alta X model—carry dispensers loaded with potassium permanganate-filled spheres. Just before release, each ball is injected with ethylene glycol, triggering a chemical reaction that ignites it on the ground. A single drone can create thousands of precisely placed ignition points across vast areas in a single flight. During the Blackberry Prescribed Fire on the Helena Ranger District, the 20-minute-flight-time drone worked in constant coordination with a 30-person ground crew across 700 acres. Every 15 minutes it returned for a fresh battery and a fresh load of spheres, while operators recorded footage, charged equipment, and stayed in radio contact with the firing boss and holding boss directing the burn.
The numbers speak for themselves. In 2025, the Northern Rockies region conducted more than 60 wildland and prescribed fire missions using these systems, with drone ignitions alone treating 6,401 acres. By April 2026—just four months in—the region had already completed 4,200 acres of drone-supported prescribed fire across more than 1,500 flights and nearly 500 flight hours. Nationwide, Forest Service pilots have logged approximately 758 hours on aerial ignition missions, treating a remarkable 134,381 acres.
Beyond sheer efficiency, the technology fundamentally changes safety. Firefighters no longer need to navigate treacherous slopes weighted down by gear, nor do they require risky helicopter flights to reach remote burn areas. The drones also enable nighttime operations and provide infrared imaging that helps crews track and suppress active wildfires. "Removing the human factor in traditional manned aircraft also increases safety in ways that we can't really measure," said Operations Specialist TJ Stender.
Nate Harrison, a UAS management specialist, sees the technology as just the beginning. "The technology has grown leaps and bounds since the program's inception and it's only going to continue," he said. Yet with innovation comes complexity—the Forest Service must navigate both fire management and aviation regulations as the program expands.
On the afternoon of that February burn along the Big Belt Mountains, fire crews continued lighting strips along the prepared perimeter as the drone worked the interior. Winter darkness would close the burn window by evening, but tomorrow's forecast promised identical conditions. Another day to treat more acres, reduce risk for nearby communities like Jimtown, York, and Helena Valley, and prove that sometimes the future of forest health arrives from above.