PD Editorial: Fighting fires while ducking drones

When a brush fire jumped a busy Southern California freeway last week and motorists ran for their lives, firefighters confronted more than frightened people and advancing flames.

Five drones hovered above Interstate 15, forcing Cal Fire to suspend aerial operations for about 20 minutes as the fire spread, destroying three houses and 64 vehicles before firefighters got the upper hand.

Buzzing a wildfire is reckless, and it’s illegal. Yet interference with firefighting aircraft is on the rise along with the popularity of quadcopters and other relatively inexpensive hobby drones.

Two incidents were reported here in California last year. In the past month alone, Cal Fire grounded airplanes and helicopters at least five times because drones flying over an active wildfire posed a safety hazard.

“You’ve got people in areas where they think it is cool, or they want to see something the average person cannot,” Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant told the New York Times. “But they don’t realize the implication of what they are doing. If you are in the general fire zone, you are causing problems.”

In a rapidly spreading fire, lost minutes can mean lost homes or, worse, lost lives.

Some drone pilots who post video footage online or try to sell it to news organizations insist they don’t pose any danger. We’ll give the benefit of the doubt to Cal Fire pilots who say that colliding with a drone could be fatal - which is why the Federal Aviation Administration often restricts the airspace above an active wildfire.

California relies heavily on firefighting aircraft, and legislators in Sacramento and Washington are proposing stiffer penalties for endangering those operations and the lives of the pilots.

Rep. Paul Cook, R-Apple Valley, whose district includes the area that burned last week, would make it a federal crime to launch a drone that disrupts firefighting efforts on federal land. “Interfering with our firefighters is a serious problem, and this legislation will ensure that those who endanger our firefighters in the future will face a serious penalty,” he said.

In Sacramento, a proposal by state Sen. Ted Gaines, R-Roseville, and Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Glendale, would protect public safety agencies from liability if they destroy drones that disrupt firefighting, search-and-rescue or emergency medical operations.

A companion measure would double the existing $1,000 fine for flying drones in a fire zone. For extreme cases, their bill includes jail time and fines of up to $5,000.

“Just because you have access to an expensive toy that can fly in a dangerous area doesn’t mean you should do it,” Gatto said.

Unfortunately, finding miscreant drone pilots isn’t easy.

The FAA doesn’t require transponders for drones, making it difficult for authorities to identify pilots who interfere with firefighters. Given the recent experience with firefighting aircraft, the agency should revisit the issue.

Otherwise, this past month might be a preview of an especially dangerous fire season.