Board supports bill to penalize drone operators
By Paul Young
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday in support of state and federal legislation that would criminally penalize operators of drones whose remote-controlled aircraft disrupt aerial firefighting efforts.
“It’s absolutely maddening to think operations intended to knock down wildfires are being thwarted, with the threat of property loss and lives endangered,” said Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington, a former airline pilot who proposed that the board endorse the bills. “Planes are being grounded from fighting fires because of drones.”
Senate Bill 167, sponsored by Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Redding, would make it a misdemeanor offense for anyone to willfully fly an unmanned aerial vehicle into an area where there is an active firefighting effort underway.
A companion measure, SB 168, would further indemnify emergency personnel against losses incurred by UAV owners if their drones are damaged or destroyed during a wildland firefighting mission.
“This bill will help make sure the skies are clear of drones and that the brave men and women fighting these fires can do their job of protecting the public without worrying about frivolous lawsuits,” Gaines said Monday.
SB 167 calls for fines and jail time for anyone convicted of disrupting an aerial firefighting endeavor.
According to Washington, there have been at least two recent instances in California of tankers and water-dropping helicopters being pulled out of a mission because of drones buzzing around below them.
Drones halt aerial fire containment efforts
“Imagine a drone being sucked into your engine while you’re fighting a fire,” the supervisor said. “If that engine quits, there’s no place for the pilot to go but into a hillside.”
The Federal Aviation Administration regulates airspace. The agency is still in the process of establishing hard rules governing drones, which are currently only prohibited in and around airports, as well as anywhere the FAA declares a temporary flight restriction. But violators only face civil penalties.
Rep. Paul Cook, R-Yucaipa, last week introduced H.R. 3025, the “Wildfire Airspace Protection Act of 2015,” under which anyone who flies a drone onto federal property where crews are battling a brush fire could be charged with a felony, facing fines and up to five years in prison.
Cook’s bill is under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.
Supervisor John Benoit, a former highway patrolman and an active private pilot, said he gladly supported the state and federal proposals.
“There’s virtually no regulation now,” he said, adding that he particularly liked the idea of immunizing law enforcement officers against liability for destroying drones that imperil firefighting missions.
