Over or Near WILDFIRES
DO NOT Fly Drones
PREVENT ACCIDENTS & DISRUPTION
of Suppression
Operations
BOISE,
IDAHO – After members of the public flying drones disrupted wildfire operations
in Southern California twice this week, Federal, State, and local wildfire
managers are again urging the public not to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems
(UAS), often referred to as drones, within or near wildfires to
ensure Fire Fighter safety and the effectiveness of suppression operations.
Thursday
June 25th, air-tanker operations were suspended on the Sterling Fire on the San Bernardino National Forest. Wednesday
June 24th, air-tanker operations were suspended, again on the Lake Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains, after drones flown by members of the public, were detected in the fire areas.
“If a UAS is detected
flying over or near a wildfire, we will stop air-tankers from dropping fire
retardant, helicopters from dropping water, and other aerial firefighting
aircraft from performing wildfire suppression missions until we can confirm
that the UAS has left the area and we are confident it won’t return,” said Steve Gage, U.S. Forest Service
representative on the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) at the
National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. “Unfortunately,
this could decrease the effectiveness of wildfire suppression operations,
allowing wildfires to grow larger, and in some cases, unduly threaten lives and
property, but firefighter and public safety are our top priorities in wildfire
management.”
Aerial
firefighting aircraft, such as air-tankers and helicopters, fly at very low
altitudes, typically just a couple of hundred feet above the ground, the same
as UAS flown by members of the public do, creating the potential for a mid-air
collision that could seriously injure or kill aerial and/or ground firefighters. In addition, a UAS flown by a member of the
public that loses its communication link could fall from the sky, causing
serious injuries or deaths of firefighters on the ground.
Temporary
Flight Restrictions (TFRs) are typically put in place during wildfires that
require aircraft, manned or unmanned, that are not involved in wildfire
suppression operations to obtain permission from fire managers to enter
specified airspace.
The
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of the Interior and other wildland
fire management agencies consider UAS, including those used by members of the
public for hobby and recreation purposes, to be aircraft and therefore subject
to TFRs.
Members
of the public should not fly UAS over or near wildfires, even if a TFR is not
in place to prevent accidents and disruption of suppression operations. Individuals who are determined to have
interfered with wildfire suppression efforts may be subject to civil penalties
and potentially criminal prosecution.
FAA
guidance for members of the public flying UAS for hobby or recreation purposes
is available online at http://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/