Drones Prevent Firefighters From Tackling Blaze In California

Several drones prevented firefighters in California from dispatching helicopters to put out wildfires near Los Angeles last week.

Helicopters carrying buckets of water to douse the fire were prevented from taking off due to five drones hovering above the blaze.

The fire in the Cajon Pass, 55 miles northeast of LA, started in dry grassland and quickly spread to the highway due to 40mph winds, torching 20 cars but with injuries miraculously limited to just two people.

Firefighting tackling the blaze crews had no choice but to ground their low-flying aircraft until the drones had cleared the airspace.

‘Hobby drones’ hovering over fires are becoming increasingly problematic, according to firefigher officials in California.

Speaking to CNN, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Eric Sherwin said:

“Fortunately, there were no injuries or fatalities to report, but the 15 to 20 minutes that those helicopters were grounded meant that 15 to 20 minutes were lost that could have led to another water drop cycle, and that would have created a much safer environment and we would not have seen as many citizens running for their lives.”

The fire service were unable to ascertain who was flying the drones, as their efforts were concentrated on fighting the fire.

Drones are covered under the temporary flight restrictions that were put in place around the fire by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The incident is the latest in a series of near misses involving the unmanned flying vehicles, including a drone that narrowly missed collided with a plane coming in to land at Heathrow airport.

According to a recent survey carried out by the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), more than half (52%) of the British public think that those who endanger an aircraft while flying a drone should be given a prison sentence.

(Image credit: Sky News)