View of a gannet drone pro in flight. Courtesy/commercialdroneprofessional.com
SAIMT News:
The Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 urges individuals and organizations that fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), often referred to as “drones”, to stay away from the Medio Fire area to ensure the safety of firefighters and the effectiveness of wildfire suppression operations.
The Medio Fire is burning approximately 7 miles north of Santa Fe.
Aerial firefighting aircraft, such as airtankers and helicopters, fly at very low altitudes, typically just a couple of hundred feet above the ground, the same as drones flown by individuals and organizations. This situation creates the potential for a mid-air collision that could seriously injure or kill aerial and/or ground firefighters.
In addition, a drone that loses its communication link could fall from the sky, causing serious injuries or deaths of firefighters on the ground.
Unauthorized drone flights over or near the Medio Fire could lead fire managers to suspend aerial wildfire suppression operations – such as airtankers dropping fire retardant and helicopters dropping water – until the drone has left the airspace and they are confident it will not return.
Suspending air operations could decrease the effectiveness of wildfire suppression operations, allowing wildfires to grow larger, and in some cases, unduly threaten lives, property, and valuable natural and cultural resources. Suspended air operations also can delay transportation of firefighters to different locations and add to wildfire suppression costs.
“It may be hard for individuals and organizations who aren’t familiar with wildfire suppression operations to understand why it’s so dangerous for them to fly a UAS over or near the Medio Fire,” Incident Commander Carl Schwope said. “Firefighting aircraft typically fly in smoky, windy, and turbulent conditions. Safety depends on knowing what other aircraft are operating in the airspace and where they are at all times and this is compromised by the presence of unauthorized aircraft, including UAS.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has imposed a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the Medio Fire area.
Information about this TFR and others are available online at https:////tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html. The TFR requires aircraft, manned or unmanned, that are not involved in wildfire suppression operations to obtain permission to enter specified airspace. The FAA and the U.S. Forest Service consider all drones, including those flown by members of the public for hobby or recreation purposes, to be aircraft and therefore subject to TFRs.
Individuals and organizations who fly drones without authorization over or near wildfires may be violating federal, state, and/or local laws, regulations, and ordinances, whether a TFR is in place or not.
All unauthorized drone flights over or near wildfires will be reported to the FAA and law enforcement agencies. Individuals who have been determined to have endangered manned aircraft or people on the ground with a drones and/or interfered with wildfire suppression may be subject to civil penalties, including fines of up to $27,500 and potentially criminal prosecution.