A Practical Decision Support Tool for Aerial Coordinators in Wildfires: Planning Helicopter Operations

Abstract

[Abstract]: Wildfires constitute one of the most significant challenges currently facing humanity. In addition to implementing measures to reduce the risk of their occurrence, it is essential to improve the effectiveness of current firefighting resources during extinguishing operations in order to minimize the resulting damage. The role of the aerial coordinator is therefore crucial in ensuring effective aerial suppression efforts and mitigating associated damages. To support decision-making in such critical scenarios, this study proposes a tool for the strategic planning of firefighting helicopter operations. Thus, the main objective of the framework is to determine the operational schedule for each helicopter involved in wildfire suppression, as well as to select the corresponding intervention zones. Helicopter operations along closed flight paths and compliance with aerial flight regulations applicable in Spain are also incorporated. To achieve the aforementioned objective, two strategies have been implemented. Firstly, a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem has been developed. Secondly, due to the computational complexity of the model, two algorithms based on simulated annealing and iterated local search metaheuristic techniques have been proposed. Finally, computational experiments using real-world data instances have demonstrated the potential and effectiveness of the proposed tool, offering promising prospects for enhancing aerial firefighting operations during wildfire events. The tool provides the aerial coordinator with a rapid and flexible means of establishing aerial resource planning, which can be executed repeatedly to adapt to the evolving nature of wildfires due to its short execution time.