It has been too long since I last posted about the dangers of flying drones, aka unmanned aircraft systems, in fire zones. See for example my post of April 13, 2016. I don't know about you, but I have continued to hear in various media accounts over the last two years of drone incursions into fire zones. Please, if you have a drone, keep your drone out of fire zones. You should keep your drone out of fire zones even if there are no flight restrictions over the fire zone. If a drone is flying in the fire zone tankers and helicopters are grounded for safety reasons. A collision with a drone can bring down an aircraft with fatal consequences. When these aerial resources are grounded then these aerial resources are unavailable to help ground based wildland firefighters. Fines and criminal charges are possible for drone operators over a wildfire.
Here is a video from ABC News 10 in San Diego, California about a drone grounding aerial resources when a drone was spotted over the wildfire.
Direct link to Youtube video from ABC News 10 in San Diego
CAL FIRE (CDF) S2T Tanker 71 working Sawtooth Complex Fire (2006)
Sawtooth Complex Fire (Sept. 2006), San Bernardino County CA. Photo Credit: U.S. Forest Service
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