There is a Temporary Flight Restriction over all wildfires due to the hazards citizen-operated aircraft present to firefighting aircraft. The TFR applies to drone flights as well. Fire Prevention Specialist Brian Ballou said, “If the drone gets mixed up in the rotors, gets sucked into the engine, that aircraft is probably going to come down and someone’s going to die.”
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said on August 16, someone flew a drone over a helicopter dumping water on the Miles Fire in the Burnt Peak area.
“It’s really dangerous to have any kind of unauthorized air craft drones especially because they’re difficult to see because of they’re small in nature,” Melissa Cano, Public Information Officer for Oregon Department of Forestry said.
As expected, a drone that interferes with air operation poses a problem for a number of reasons.
“The second there’s an unauthorized aircraft, being a drone in the area, we have to ground everything,” Cano said. “It puts our pilots at risk and it puts all the people working on that fire underneath the helicopter at risk too in the event of a crash.”
It’s not only dangerous, it also puts the fire fight at risk. Helicopters are one of the most effective tools in putting out a wildfire, and not having those, would be detrimental.
“Our best resource is air craft, specifically helicopters because we’re able to get into the steep terrain and do a lot of bucket drops,” Cano said.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office adds that not only is flying an authorized air craft somewhere it’s not supposed to dangerous, it’s also illegal.
“Aside from interfering and slowing down the operation of the fire fighting which is a crime in itself,” Deputy Noah Strohmeyer, Jackson County Sheriff Office, said. “Directly putting these people at risk that are there to help make the situation better and bring an end to these fires is a crime as well.”
All wildfires have a temporary flight restriction over all wildfires to protect pilots and crews.
“It’s a lot of activity going on and a drone on top of that, its not good news.”
Already this year, there have been more than seventeen cases of drones shutting down air operations for the United States Forest Service, however this is the first drone incident that has shut down operations in Oregon this year.
The suspect who flew the drone could face charges including reckless endangering and interfering with a firefighter. Penalties from the Federal Aviation Administration could also be imposed.
Anyone with further information about this case is asked to call JCSO Deputy Lance at 541-774-6800.
A map of the location where the incident occurred is below this article.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.