Drones hamper firefighting efforts across the state

Firefighters said private drones recently hampered their efforts to fight a fire in San Bernadino County. It comes at a time when the state is facing a busy wildfire season. In fact, Cal Fire said they’ve responded to 1,100 fires in the first six months of this year compared to last.

Over the weekend, they responded to 12 fires that were sparked by lightning. The largest was a ten acre fire outside of Hollister. None have grown out of control because of an initial attack on the ground and in the air.

In other parts of the state that air attack has been hampered by unmanned aircraft. Most recently, the North Fire in San Bernadino County where there reports of six drones within the area of the firefight.

“If there happens to be a mid-air collision,” Jonathan Pangburn, public information office for Cal Fire BEU said. “That could be catastrophic for our pilots and we aren’t going to allow that.”

Without the air attack, fires could grow faster.

“The retardant that can get in there to slow it down,” Pangburn explained. “(It) allows our ground sources to get in their and do their job to put out the fires.”

While the FAA considers regulations on drones, it’s better to be safe than sorry, especially during an erratic fire season.

“If you fly, then we can’t,” Pangburn said.

Another reason to keep the drones grounded during emergencies, Cal Fire said it’s against the law to disrupt public safety officials from doing their duties, and you can face serious fines. In fact, a Roseville lawmaker is pushing a bill that would increase fines by as much as $5,000 and six months in jail for drone use that interferes with firefighting.