NASA drone fights western fires

MORGAN HILL, Calif., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- A new pilotless plane on loan from NASA was used to aid firefighters battling 11 blazes in California, Oregon and Washington, it was reported.

The Ikhana drone logged 20 hours this weekend, flying from its home at Edwards Air Force base in California north over the 47,000-acre Lick fire near Morgan Hill and then on to Oregon and Washington, the San Jose Mercury News reported Sunday.

The drone's cameras can see through smoke to locate hot spots, flames and temperature differences. Vince Ambrosio, a NASA official on the Ikhana project, monitored the drone's flight from a base in Boise, Idaho, while other NASA technicians interpreted the images for fire commanders, the News reported.

The Ikhana, which means "intelligence," "conscious" or "aware" in the Choctaw language, made its maiden voyage last month.

The Lick fire, the largest in the United States right now, began Sept. 3 and has cost more than $6.4 million, the News reported, noting firefighters hoped to contain the blaze Sunday.