Hobby Drones Increase Risk To Aerial Fire Efforts

DroneBOISE, IDAHO — If you do an online search for the Two Bulls Fire, you’ll find plenty of eyewitness video.

One that stands out from the rest, though, is high quality aerial video that looks like it was taken by a professional film crew.

It wasn’t.

The rise of consumer-level helicopter drones and affordable mounted HD-cameras are giving rise to amateur aerial video and photography. Recently, they’ve been used to take video of fire damage.

“We’re starting to see an increase of those around the fires that we’re trying to suppress and contain in the Northwest,” says Mark Ferris with the US Forest Service. “We really need people to know what they’re doing when they’re flying one of those things somewhere near a fire area.”

During fire suppression efforts, a Temporary Flight Restriction for area is declared. Operating a drone in that airspace can cause serious risk.

“Two things can occur,” says Ferris. “One, there could a serious aviation accident. And then secondly, it could cause us to shut down the air operations.”

The FAA regulates the lawfulness of hobby and amateur drones.

To see those regulations in full, click here.

If you see local news happen, call the Horizon Broadcasting Group News Tip Hotline at 541-323-NEWS, or email us.

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