Firefighters are now battling drones as well as flames. It’s bad enough that a huge chunk of California is blazing, thanks to at least a couple arsonists. Newsweek is reporting that authorities “were forced to ground their aircraft.”
Drones in the way
The Line Fire continues blazing away while unauthorized drones are hampering efforts to contain it.
The conflagration was set intentionally on September 5, alongside the San Bernardino National Forest. That covers a major part of Southern California.
Since it was started, the blaze has “grown to more than 39,000 acres.” Crews were recently happy to report the milestone of reaching 51 percent containment.
Meanwhile, it’s “put thousands and thousands of structures at risk, including single- and multifamily homes and commercial buildings.” They’re in danger of losing ground again because of interference from civilian drones.
The Line Fire in particular “was so severe that California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency for San Bernardino County earlier this month.”
Doing that unlocked “additional state resources and personnel to assist firefighters and securing federal assistance to support the response to the blaze.” It doesn’t give them any extra money to clear drones away from their airspace.
Forced to pause
The unusually high number of drones in the area forced the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to hit the pause button on air support. CAL FIRE crews have been “tirelessly combating the flames.”
They need choppers and planes to get places where the terrain is too rugged for ground efforts.
The drones, CAL FIRE noted on social media, are seriously making their work harder. “There have been multiple drone incursions over the Line Fire area.”
“This has forced us to temporarily ground our aircraft which has impeded firefighting operations.” They want everyone to spread the word.
“Please help us share the message that flying drones in wildfire areas can have serious consequences.” Good news is that “cooler temperatures over the area are bringing up moisture levels in the vegetation.” That means “there was minimal fire growth overnight.”
Authorities can’t stress enough that flying drones near a wildfire “can have deadly consequences.” Please, they add, “be respectful of those fighting the fire and the community members who are impacted by fire.” It’s really simple. “If you fly, we can’t.“
