April 22, 2016: University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers Carrick Detweiler, left, and Sebastian Elbaum, right, prepare their drone for flight at the Homestead National Monument in Beatrice, Neb./ (AP)
BEATRICE, Neb. – Researchers in Nebraska tested a new tool on Friday that could eventually help in fighting grass fires — drones.
A team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln flew an unmanned aircraft over the prairie at the Homestead National Monument of America on Friday, dropping ping pong-like balls filled with a chemical mixture to ignite brush-clearing grass fires.
Local and federal officials are interested in the technology because it could help clear overgrown vegetation in rugged, hard-to-reach terrain, said Michael Johnson, a spokesman for the National Park Service.