The video that I share today on airspace over fires focuses on California. Living in the Mid-Atlantic area of the U.S.A. and having written the blog for over fifteen years,I am aware that wildfires in my area are often quite different than wildfires in CA and other areas of the western U.S.A. However, in my area, aircraft are used to aid the wildland firefighters on the ground fight wildfires. I am aware of the differences I am sharing this video because as someone who lives in the Mid-Atlantic USA, I learned something about the airspace over wildfires that I think applies to my area. I am not a pilot, but in years past I have been on scenic rides that were near wildfires, so I am writing from the point of view of flying an airplane or helicopter.
1. If you see smoke, stay several miles away. Wildfire officials are likely to already know about the wildfire, but if you are not sure, a pilot can report the smoke.
2. Not all wildfires will be under a temporary flight restriction (TFRs). aThe video point out that it may take a few hours to get a TFR over a wildfire and some smaller fires will be contained in under a few hours.
3. If you are flying an aircraft, you probably know about TFRs on your route, including ones that may be there because of a wildfire. Not only should you stay out of the TFR, don’t fly on the edges of the TFR, stay several miles away.
4. Don’t fly drones in or near wildfires. A drone striking an aircraft of any size can cripple or in the worst case bring down an airplane.
The video is about eleven minutes long and is worth watching. This video did pop up as I was looking on YouTube for videos focusing on aerial resources to help wildland firefighters on the ground. But I learned about this video in mid-August of 2025 when the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page shared the video in their daily videos section of their webpage
Direct link to August 2025 video from Airborne Firefighters on YouTube
