Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Tuesday July 21 2015, @02:28PM   Printer-friendly
from the if-you-fly,-we-can't dept.

US firefighters have condemned drone owners who flew their craft near forest fires and grounded helicopters being used to douse flames.

Lives were put at unnecessary risk because helicopters could not fly, said fire department officials. The helicopters were helping to contain a large wildfire in San Bernadino county over the weekend. Five drones spotted hovering over the fire were thought to be shooting video for their owners.

The activity of the drones meant helicopters were grounded for about 20 minutes, Eric Sherwin of the San Bernadino fire department told CNN.
[...]
"When a hobby drone is flown into a fire area, incident commanders have no choice but to suspend air operations and ground aircraft until the drone is removed from the area," it said.

The fire department issued images that were shared on social media, warning drone owners to stay away from fires. "If you fly, we can't," they said.

US rules governing drone use mean any pilot caught flying their craft over a disaster area that has temporary flight restrictions in place could be fined up to $25,000 (£16,000). It is not clear whether the FAA is going to investigate who was piloting the drones over the Interstate 15 fire.

Drones have hindered firefighters in California at least four times before now, sometimes stopping flights for up to 90 minutes.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @02:42PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @02:42PM (#211934)

    They should just have shot those drones down. The owners couldn't complain: They were flying in an area where they weren't allowed to, and by doing so caused danger to other people. It there's any situation where shooting down a privately operated drone is justified, this is it.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +3  
       Interesting=2, Underrated=1, Total=3
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 2) by danomac on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:06PM

    by danomac (979) on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:06PM (#211947)
    Wouldn't it be better to shoot them down? That way when the owners come forward and complain, they can be hit with the $25,000 fine.
  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Tork on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:12PM

    by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:12PM (#211956)
    Yeah, open fire in a high fire risk zone and rain lithium-filled parts all over the place. That's just brilliant.
    --
    🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
    • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @07:09PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @07:09PM (#212058)

      A tiny nugget of lithium can be dangerous if it's sitting on your crotch and catches fire. But it's like a spittle in the ocean in a fucking forest fire...

      • (Score: 2) by Tork on Tuesday July 21 2015, @07:13PM

        by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 21 2015, @07:13PM (#212059)
        Um, no, not if it starts a new hotspot. Keyword: "Containment."
        --
        🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @08:32PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @08:32PM (#212081)

          It's easier to contain when the dousing helicopters are airborne instead of waiting for some criminal wanker get bored with playing around with his new toy.

          • (Score: 2) by Tork on Tuesday July 21 2015, @08:43PM

            by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 21 2015, @08:43PM (#212084)
            Not if it's kindled right near people or property. It does make me proud to be an 'Murican, sittin her tryin to justify shootin our guns.
            --
            🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:16PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:16PM (#211961) Journal

    Firefighters and firearms don't mix so well. Damn if I'm going to carry potential explosives into a fire. The cops? Cops don't wear the protective gear necessary to get inside a fire. Surely you're not suggesting that the helicopters be armed? I can see it now - 30 caliber cannon open up on those little drones, and everywhere the cannon point, more fires erupt. Maybe - just maybe - the cannon won't kill anyone on the ground . . .

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by tibman on Tuesday July 21 2015, @04:59PM

      by tibman (134) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 21 2015, @04:59PM (#211994)

      A water cannon would be both appropriate for the job and taking down drones.

      --
      SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @05:47PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @05:47PM (#212014)

        I wonder if they can just signal jam the restricted area. Any lost drones is on the owner/operator. If the drone falls and injures someone it's also on the owner. Any damage caused by the drone is on the owner.

        • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Tuesday July 21 2015, @05:58PM

          by mhajicek (51) on Tuesday July 21 2015, @05:58PM (#212023)

          And then someone dies because they can't get a signal to call for help.

          --
          The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @09:01PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @09:01PM (#212089)

            That isn't how jamming works. Radio waves work on frequencies and if you jam the right frequencies correctly, others will still work fine. Most drones use either 2.4 or 5.8 GHz. However, cell phone frequencies are 806–960 MHz, 1,710–2,025 MHz, 2,110–2,200 MHz and 2,500–2,690 MHz. Two way radios use 462 MHz, 467 MHz, and under 100.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:28PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:28PM (#211966) Journal

    That's not a firefighter's job.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @05:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @05:40PM (#212011)

    I would have enjoyed shooting such a drone down ...