The newest add-on to California’s Fire Department is a drone called Ikhana, developed by NASA, which will help the state’s fire crews efficiently battle the many blazes reported on an almost daily base.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger referred to the drone as being "one of the most exciting new weapons in our firefighting arsenal."

The remotely controlled airplane delivers real-time infrared images of hot spots to the fire commanders, in order for them to save valuable time and charge directly the source.   

"California's unprecedented number of fires this early in the season makes it all the more important that we use every tool at our disposal to protect property and save lives," Gov. Schwarzenegger added.

The project demanded a $6 million investment, but according to the fire fighters, the amount was well spent, as it only takes the drone about 10 minutes to deliver a complete set of information. Its onboard sensor has the ability to look through smoke and identify temperatures scaling from one-half degree to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The plane uses a communications satellite in order to send the infrared photos to NASA’s bureaus, where the data is introduced in Google Earth and also in Microsoft’s Virtual Earth maps.

Responsible for supervising the flights is NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert.

The need for such a help was realized over the past few months when many fires torched vast areas. The government strongly believes that it is crucial to equip its fire fighters with all the available and useful technology, for the results to be satisfying.