Instead of scheduling a plane, which could take longer owing to the time required to make arrangements with the local airport, drones would be lower-cost and able to operate even if there was cloudcover, he said.
These systems must be smart enough to independently switch back and forth from solar when the sun is out to fuel at night or when there is heavy cloudcover.
Higher humidity and cloudcover Wednesday night might aid firefighting efforts, but there was no guarantee conditions would not be similar to Tuesday's conflagration, Harvey told reporters.
There was no moon, and under the low cloudcover a brisk unseasonable wind ruffled the old Norwegian maples that lined the street and dropped a fine rain of spring buds on my shoulders and in my hair.