The Sun: Supervisors authorize rewards to stop wildfire drone operations

By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 07/28/15 – 11:54 AM PDT |

San Bernardino County supervisors on Tuesday approved $75,000 to be used as reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of illegal drone operators who forced the grounding of aerial firefighters during recent wildfires in the San Bernardino Mountains and High Desert.

“It’s an issue that is drastically affecting first-responders in tackling fires here in San Bernardino County,” Board of Supervisors Chairman James Ramos said.

The Board of Supervisors approved the allocation on a 4-0 vote. Supervisor Robert Lovingood was absent.

U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Miller said there have been five drone incidents in the last six weeks that hindered firefighters in their attempts to battle wildland fires. During the North fire, in the High Desert and Cajon Pass, aerial firefighting efforts were hindered for 26 minutes when a drone was spotted hovering in restricted airspace.

But the issue is not new. Miller said the Forest Service has been discussing and preparing for the problem of unmanned aircraft at wildland fires for more than a year.

“Who would have imagined that out of 155 national forests spread across this country, that we would have four fires in San Bernardino County on the San Bernardino National Forest, with five drone incidents,” Miller told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “Outside of this county, we have had one incident involving a recon aircraft in Northern California. So just as it has been somewhat a surprise to the county, it also has been for us.”

The North fire ignited near the 15 Freeway in the Cajon Pass on July 17, jumping the freeway and destroying or damaging 30 vehicles. Five drones were spotted above the fire, and planes and helicopters dropping flame retardant or water on the blaze were ordered away from the area for the pilots’ safety, officials said.

Drones were also responsible for the grounding of firefighter aircraft during the Mill 2, Lake and the June 25 Sterling Fire, which burned 100 acres east of Del Rosa Avenue in San Bernardino.

The Lake fire was reported about 4 p.m. on June 17, burning more than 31,000 acres on the eastern flank of the San Bernardino Mountains, destroying one home, three outbuildings and causing minor injuries to six firefighters, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Pilots preparing to drop retardant on the blaze were forced to jettison their load, turn around and land after spotting an orange or red drone that cut between two of the planes at an elevation of about 12,000 feet.

Federal law mandates that drones fly no more than 400 feet in altitude.

The continual presence of drones at wildfires in the last month has prompted elected officials to propose legislation cracking down on illegal drone users.

On July 10, Rep. Paul Cook, R-Apple Valley, introduced his proposed Wildfire Airspace Protection Act of 2015, which would make it a federal offense to fly a drone that interferes with firefighting operations on federal lands.

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