Unauthorized drones shut down Keremeos wildfire fighting efforts

Two drones flying over the Keremeos Creek wildfire shut down aerial firefighting activities Monday.

According to the BC Wildfire Service, two drones were spotted above the fire, which compromised the safety of its members.

In a Twitter thread, the firefighting service wrote that “This type of activity is extremely dangerous.”

“It poses a significant safety risk to B.C. wildfire personnel, especially when low-flying firefighting aircrafts are present. If a drone collides with a firefighting aircraft, the consequences could be deadly.”

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It is illegal to fly a drone or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over or near a wildfire in B.C. According to the firefighting service, airspace is restricted in a radius of five nautical miles around the fire and to an altitude of 3,000 feet above ground level.

Fire information officer Aydan Coray told CityNews every summer the service deals with issues related to drones flying over wildfires.

“When there’s unauthorized aircraft such as a drone in the area. It can be quite dangerous, especially if it comes in contact with one of our firefighting aircraft,” she said.

Coray says the wildfire service doesn’t know who was flying the drones or where they originated from.

“I would just hope that the public would understand the severity of this kind of incidents and in the interest of our aircrew, public safety, please keep your drones well away from wildfire areas,” she said.

According to the province, all wildfires are considered to be automatically “flight restricted” by the federal Canadian Aviation Regulations.

Today, there were 2 occurrences of unauthorized drone activity on the Keremeos Creek wildfire (K50863). The presence of drones on the wildfire resulted in a complete shutdown of aerial firefighting efforts due to safety concerns. This type of activity is extremely dangerous, pic.twitter.com/nKi0wuoJdI

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 30, 2022

“The rules regarding drone use are very clear and simple to understand,” the wildfire service said.

In 2016, B.C.’s Wildfire Act was amended, and anyone found interfering with wildfire firefighting efforts, including flying drones or UAVs, can face penalties of up to $100,000 and/or one year in jail.