Illegal Drones Worsen Wildfire Destruction

An alarming trend and confusing regulations hamper firefighting efforts nationwide, as unauthorized drones disrupt operations.
An aerial firefighting mission.

An alarming trend, and confusing regulations, hamper firefighting efforts across the country

Molly McCluskey

Aug 27 2024

In 2022, a wildfire tore across 18 acres of Mt. Helena in northwestern Montana. As crews raced to tame it, an unauthorized drone flew into the area, halting air operations. Unknown drones pose risks to aerial firefighting, so the Montana crew followed standard procedures.

 

Officials located the drone owner in under 15 minutes, but this delay left ground firefighters without aerial support, causing a city park to burn and putting the capitol building at risk less than three miles away.

 

“[The fire] was right on the doorstep of town,” said Cory Calnan, deputy fire protection bureau chief for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. “Flying a toy drone over a wildfire for pictures has serious consequences.”

 

On average, 23 conflicts with unmanned aerial systems are reported annually within the wildland fire community. A record 41 were reported in 2016. Because firefighting aircraft can fly at the same altitude as many hobbyist drones, the risk of collision often halts all aerial firefighting efforts until the drone clears the area, leaving ground crews without critical support. Federal and state agencies have reported incidents.

 

“As drones become less expensive and more available, they’re becoming more of an issue on wildland fire incidents,” said Marshall Thompson, deputy division chief of external affairs for the Bureau of Land Management Fire.

 

Depending on how a drone enters a wildfire-fighting operation, all aerial operations might be forced to shut down or be redirected.

 

“We might move our aircraft from a larger incident to a lower priority, ground them, or move them to a different altitude until the intrusion clears,” said Cliff Chetwin, a former wildland fire manager for the National Park Service.

 

Thompson warns that unauthorized drone operators can disrupt aerial firefighting resources even when they can’t see such work in action. Aerial support traveling to a fire from another area could be turned back or redirected to avoid the risk the drone poses. As federal and state agencies increasingly use authorized drones for tasks like mapping and hot-spot detection, it’s critical that no unauthorized drones are in the airspace over a fire.

 

“Someone might think it’s OK to fly their drone around a fire if they don’t see large aviation equipment, but we might have our own drone equipment actively engaged,” said Thompson.

 

Unlike crewed aircraft, drones’ fields of vision are restricted by a single camera lens, making it more difficult to see their surroundings, increasing the likelihood of collisions.

 

Under normal conditions, each federal and state land management agency sets its own rules for recreational drone use. For example, the National Park Service bans drones within park boundaries. The US Fish and Wildlife Service bans launching, landing, or disturbing wildlife within refuges. The Bureau of Land Management prohibits launching or landing in designated wilderness areas.

 

During wildfire conditions, all agencies cooperate via the National Interagency Fire Center, composed of fire officials from various federal and state agencies. Wildfire incident commanders can request a “temporary flight restriction,” which is reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The process is usually quick and implemented within hours.

 

“Primarily the FAA sees these drones as aircraft, not toys,” said Kevin Morris, an FAA spokesperson. “We see them as operating aircraft in our national airspace.”

 

Drone pilots must know the airspace they’re flying in and whether a temporary flight restriction is in place. The Department of Defense sends alerts through its Notice to Air Missions system, and the FAA’s B4UFly service provides mobile and desktop resources. All recreational drone pilots must pass the FAA’s TRUST test and show proof of passing to law enforcement if asked. The test includes information on temporary flight restrictions and wildfires.

 

Previously, unauthorized intrusions into firefighting operations were primarily caused by small crewed aircraft, such as Cessnas. But the procedures for dealing with unauthorized intrusions have remained nearly the same for decades.

 

“The difference is a drone is a machine without a pilot to make human decisions. It doesn’t have communication capability, and until recently, wasn’t even required to have a registration number,” said Chetwin. “Like anything in the regulatory space, the longer they’re around, the more laws they’ll have.”

 

Regardless of the type of aircraft, Congress has made interfering with firefighting efforts on public lands a federal crime and authorized the FAA to impose civil penalties of up to $20,000.

 

“The FAA isn’t a law enforcement body. We don’t confiscate property, handcuff people, or jail them,” said Morris. “But Congress made it so interfering with firefighting efforts on public lands can carry a criminal charge and prison time.”

 

The FAA and other agencies can issue fines and civil penalties, including jail time and license suspension. In Montana, civilians using drones that interfere with firefighting could be fined up to $1,500 and sentenced to up to six months in jail. Anyone seeing a drone operating illegally within a wildfire area should report it to the National Interagency Fire Center or local police.

 

Officials say regulations and threats of fines and prison aren’t the most effective way to keep drones out of wildfire operations.

 

“More laws and regulation on the enforcement side probably won’t buy us more compliance. But the education piece on the front end is where we could see gains,” said Calnan. “A big ask from agencies to drone manufacturers is to include educational information. When you open a new drone, there should be something that says, ‘Don’t fly over a wildfire or emergency area.’”

 

Calnan also recommends using social media to educate drone owners about responsible use. Social pressure among friends and fellow drone operators can be a strong motivator.

 

“Regardless of who’s flying the drone—a hobbyist or a photographer—you’re putting people’s lives and property in danger when you fly over an incident,” Calnan said. “It’s just not worth it. Please keep those aircraft on the ground during an emergency and take pictures from a safe distance instead.”

More stories about:

wildfire,
national parks

Original Story at www.sierraclub.org