Drones interfere with wildfire containment operations

BOISE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Despite multiple warnings, unauthorized drones flying near active wildfires remain a problem. Firefighters say these drones create dangers as crews work to control wildfires.

“Mainly this weekend, two drones arrived in this area, one yesterday and one the day before,” said Joe Livreri.

Livreri is the operations chief of the team controlling the Valley Fire near Boise. He says they took over last week – and since then, they’ve dealt with several drones in the area that shouldn’t be there while they fight the flames.

“When there is a drone in the air, we have to stop the helicopters. It will take us about four hours of flying time to stop before we can use these helicopters and make sure the airspace is clear,” Livreri said.

This delay can be critical when trying to control a forest fire.

“The aircraft used to fight these fires played a very important role in managing the fires and preventing them from reaching homes and spreading into the forest. because this drone, even though it’s small, can go into the rotor of our helicopters or cause damage to the engine and cause something catastrophic,” Robbie Johnson said.

Johnson is the public information officer for the Idaho Department of Lands. She says that usually when there is a large wildfire – like the one in the Valley – a temporary flight restriction is put in place.

Despite these warnings, firefighters say someone decided to fly their drone into the “no-fly zone” – with the plane grounded on Sunday.

“We’re just asking the public to allow us to do our operations, not to fly drones in the fire zone,” Livreri said.

Johnson adds that drones can also create problems when crews are brought in to carry out a rescue mission. “It impacts the planes that are dropping water, it impacts the planes that are prepared to rescue firefighters if there is an injury,” Johnson said.

Firefighters are asking drone pilots to carefully check fire maps posted online before flying. The BLM says violators could face fines and even jail time.

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