Unauthorized drones land Los Angeles fire planes: ‘Incredibly dangerous’

The fire plane is trying fight the Palisades wildfire on the outskirts of Los Angeles were forced to leave the area for a while on Friday after unauthorized drones were spotted in the air.

Newsweek reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department for comment by email and phone, respectively, outside normal business hours Saturday.

Why is this important?

On Thursday, a Super Scooper aircraft designed to transport large amounts of water to be dropped on fires was damaged after colliding with a small drone while flying over the Palisades Fire, leaving a hole in its wing. Los Angeles Times reported In response, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said the plane had been grounded, though he hoped it would be fixed by Monday.

Unauthorized drones are hampering firefighting efforts by forcing planes out of the area and potentially damaging them, which authorities say puts lives both in the air and on the ground at risk.

What you need to know

Talking to LA Times, Chris Thomas, public information officer for Palisade Fire, said the most recent unauthorized drone incidents, which forced firefighting aircraft to leave the area, were seen around 4:40 p.m. Friday.

Thomas said it happened over the southeast part of the fire, near Santa Monica, and is being investigated by law enforcement and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

As of 9:15 a.m. ET Saturday, the Palisades Fire had burned more than 21,000 acres in accordance by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), making this fire the most destructive in state history.

On Friday, the Palisades fire moved closer to the densely populated San Fernando Valley, prompting new fears from authorities.

In total, the wildfires that raged in the northern and western suburbs of Los Angeles led to the death of 11 people, although on Friday the President Joe Biden warned that the number was likely to rise as “many people are still missing”.

Governor of California Gavin Newsom called Donald Trump to visit a forest fire devastation site in Los Angeles. This happened after the newly elected president declared a disaster “he is to blame for everything.”

What people say

Speaking about the Super Scooper plane that was shot down by a drone on Thursday, Thomas said: “This is not just harmless fun. This is incredibly dangerous. Seriously, what if this plane went down? He could destroy a number of houses. It could take away the school.”

“For safety reasons, we have to remove all aircraft from the area until we know that the drones are gone. So it’s very dangerous because it takes away the ability to dump water from the fire.”

Thomas said LA Times: “If we need to get helicopters out of a certain area, and the wind picks up one of these aphids in that area and blows it up, we can set a whole other area on fire.”

In a statement, the FAA told the newspaper: “Interfering with firefighting on public lands is a federal crime punishable by up to 12 months in prison.

“In addition, the FAA may impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 on any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement, or emergency response operations when temporary flight restrictions are in effect.”

What will happen next

Stronger winds of 20 to 40 mph are expected Saturday night, potentially fueling the wildfires even more, though forecasters expect them to die down Sunday.

President Biden approved a disaster declaration for the wildfires in Los Angeles, unlocking federal funding for emergency relief and reconstruction.