New legislation could punish those flying drones over wildfires
We’re in the middle of wildfire season already seeing two major Fires the Lake Fire and the North fire impact our valley.
But drones delayed fighting those fires.
Many wonder if we need rules restricting drones from flying in certain areas.
Assemblyman Chad Mayes just announced he will co-author Senate bills 167 and 168.
These bills would criminalize flying a drone during a wildfire and grant firefighters immunity if they damage that drone.
“I think guys putting drones out into the sky are probably pretty benign. Thinking it wasn’t going to cause a problem. Yet, it’s had a real threat to life and to property. Something has to be done,” Mayes said.
Mayes toured the Lake Fire burn area Wednesday with local firefighters.
“The bill will create some penalties for those who fly into areas where you have firefighting aircraft. These drones are creating problems for those firefighting aircrafts and they need to be stopped,” Mayes said.
“Like any type of consumer device, if they can create a hazard then that needs to be understood and controlled in certain areas,” Battalion Chief Rick Denison said.
In the most recent Lake and North fires, firefighters had to ground aircraft for two hours sometimes while they dealt with drones. Firefighters said that’s precious time they can’t afford to lose.
“The aircraft is a key component to firefighting. They come in, they help us slow the fire down,” Denison said.
They hope these bills will put drone owners on alert and keep pilots safe.
“There’s no one currently looking for them and pilots are very lucky that they’re skilled enough to spot them and that’s the one thing that’s saving them from any hazards,” Denison said.
Mayes said the bill sends a no-nonsense message.
The issue is that if there’s a fire — drones and fires don’t mix — so we are going to do whatever we can do to make sure that they don’t fly into that air space,” Mayes said.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday in support of both bills.
