Drones interfering with fire fighting in L.A. County

[MS Coast]

This story describes measures being taken by Los Angeles County Fire Department and the FBI to deal with irresponsible drone pilots who fly near wildfires and firefighting efforts. Firefighting aircraft must be grounded if a drone is spotted in the area of operations.

Exclusive: California fire officials and FBI are targeting illegal drones near wildfire emergencies

Just one rogue drone is all it takes to bring the aerial assault on a wildfire to a standstill. So in a fresh alliance, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Los Angeles field office are working together in a first-of-its-kind drone deterrent program to...

www.cnn.com

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Seems like an aeroscope type system, but ‘new tech not used before’ so hopefully no bans to fed / state or county use like we’ve seen with Chinese (DJI) built drones in recent times.
Possibly just not yet used before by the CA FD ?
The video / photo show a DJI M2EA drone though with thermal camera ?
Not sure how FBI involvement could include DJI equipment given the federal stance on supposed security risks ?

 

[old man mavic]

these sort of stories ,really annoy me (not what i really wanted to say ),simply because they paint a picture to the public, that anyone who flies a drone is a moron with no regard for others,
and any one who flies any type of unmanned RC controlled aircraft ,anywhere nears such areas ,
does not deserve to be a part of this pastime

 

[MS Coast]

these sort of stories ,really annoy me (not what i really wanted to say ),simply because they paint a picture to the public, that anyone who flies a drone is a moron with no regard for others,
and any one who flies any type of unmanned RC controlled aircraft ,anywhere nears such areas ,
does not deserve to be a part of this pastime

I think it's important that we know about such stories, so we can be better prepared to respond when people bring them up. And I suspect they help educate a few new drone owners who had no idea it wasn't a good idea to be flying over a wildfire response or a police chase.

There's definitely a problem with uninformed and irresponsible drone operators making the responsible folks look bad. It's far too easy for someone to wave their credit card and be flying that same afternoon without knowing a thing about what they're doing.

There's a similar situation down at the harbor right now with a guy launching his brand new 30' center console boat with three 250-hp outboards without knowing why some buoys are green and others are red or who has the right of way in a crossing situation.

I'd like to see a requirement that drones come boxed with a straightforward fact sheet that spells out the very basic good practices and makes the owner aware of programs like TRUST in the U.S.

 

[MA2 317]

I remember seeing a YouTube video several years ago when somebody filmed a house on fire with a Phantom.

The firefighters hosed it down from the sky, and the pilot whined about it.

.

 

[sar104]

Seems like an aeroscope type system, but ‘new tech not used before’ so hopefully no bans to fed / state or county use like we’ve seen with Chinese (DJI) built drones in recent times.
Possibly just not yet used before by the CA FD ?
The video / photo show a DJI M2EA drone though with thermal camera ?
Not sure how FBI involvement could include DJI equipment given the federal stance on supposed security risks ?

It doesn't say that the FBI were using DJI equipment - that's the local fire department. The FBI are simply involved in the detection program.

 

[old man mavic]

@MS Coast ,i have no problem agreeing with your reasons for posting the story ,and i agree that education is the way forwards,but that does not stop me from being annoyed,and perhaps angered would have been a better choice of word by such actions

 

[MS Coast]

@MS Coast ,i have no problem agreeing with your reasons for posting the story ,and i agree that education is the way forwards,but that does not stop me from being annoyed,and perhaps angered would have been a better choice of word by such actions

Do you mean the action of a person flying a drone over a wildfire during a containment effort? Or me posting a link to the article?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Old Man Mavic, for clarity, what is it that annoys you?
A) that people are stupid enough to fly their drone so that it interfers with fire fighting or
B) that such stories are published by the press or
C) both a) & b)?

 

[old man mavic]

@Yorkshire_Pud , (A)
@MS Coast i am not bothered that you brought the story to the attention of forum members if it stops others from doing the same thing,but the actions of such persons ,are painting a bad image of drones and drone flyers

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The FBI are simply involved in the detection program.

So probably not aeroscope, but similar US or other country developed (to DJI home base).
I believe aeroscope can detect many other makes of drones, but not with the same level of information as one could obtain with DJI drones.
Another type of system could be better developed to cope with that, or maybe DJI have addressed that in recent time.

It seems though the way things are moving, that DJI equipment in ANY facet of emergency services use, whether by whatever dept themselves, or by volunteers, is under some serious threat.

You've posted in the other thread, the details and developments there "County prohibits use of DJI drones".
This could quickly spread, and no doubt federal authorities / federal level of govco could have a very real desire to see it further implemented, be it for a real world concern, or political reasoning (the more likely scenario).

 

[sar104]

So probably not aeroscope, but similar US or other country developed (to DJI home base).
I believe aeroscope can detect many other makes of drones, but not with the same level of information as one could obtain with DJI drones.
Another type of system could be better developed to cope with that, or maybe DJI have addressed that in recent time.

It seems though the way things are moving, that DJI equipment in ANY facet of emergency services use, whether by whatever dept themselves, or by volunteers, is under some serious threat.

You've posted in the other thread, the details and developments there "County prohibits use of DJI drones".
This could quickly spread, and no doubt federal authorities / federal level of govco could have a very real desire to see it further implemented, be it for a real world concern, or political reasoning (the more likely scenario).

There are a number of alternatives to Aeroscope, but it could be Aeroscope.

The self-inflicted stupidity in Florida seems to be par for the course there, but I don't think the federal restrictions on DJI are going to affect most state and local agencies. It would directly impede their ability to use the most advanced technology and if they try to go with alternatives then they end up with supply problems, increased costs, and poorer performance. I deal with exactly that problem. Federal restrictions prevent me from using DJI equipment at work, and so I'm instead using inferior technology at an order of magnitude higher cost. The M2EA that I use for search and rescue comfortably outperforms the various $30k - $50k aircraft that I fly just because they are US platforms.

 

[MS Coast]

@MS Coast ,i have no problem agreeing with your reasons for posting the story ,and i agree that education is the way forwards,but that does not stop me from being annoyed,and perhaps angered would have been a better choice of word by such actions

I agree completely. As I said in post #4, "There's definitely a problem with uninformed and irresponsible drone operators making the responsible folks look bad." I resent their actions, too.

I think the CNN article called it pretty well. Those people flying over firefighters are "rogues," apart from the general drone community. They're either "clueless, careless, or criminal." We need to make it clear that the vast majority of us are educated, careful, and responsible.

I think this group does a very good job of cooperatively educating our selves and our community and encouraging careful and responsible behavior.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

It would directly impede their ability to use the most advanced technology and if they try to go with alternatives then they end up with supply problems, increased costs, and poorer performance.

Let's hope common sense prevails, and a 'follow Florida' / Federal restrictions approach doesn't flow on.

The old saying "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face" comes to mind.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I agree completely. As I said in post #4, "There's definitely a problem with uninformed and irresponsible drone operators making the responsible folks look bad." I resent their actions, too.

I think the CNN article called it pretty well

Every drone hobbyist with any sort of sense of doing the right thing * once they KNOW what's right / wrong and why * should be very upset about this sort of rogue behaviour, sure.
But it's important to get people educated with these sorts of articles . . .

. . . and yes, it's shame pure common sense of such things isn't all that common.

I just hope that media / news services don't take the line of exaggerating the occurrence of such incidents, to sell papers, get views online, or for some reason want to get viewers 'enraged' with the generally compliant use of drones by hobbyist and commercial drone pilots.

The article had that very apt analogy that people doing this are either clueless, careless, or criminal.

I'd say mostly it is clueless, with a spattering of careless (who cares ? or what harm ? attitude), then a very minute criminal element.

And you could say the same for overall drone ownership by their owners, or motor vehicle use, or firearms use, etc etc.

 

[Robert Prior]

I'd like to see a requirement that drones come boxed with a straightforward fact sheet that spells out the very basic good practices and makes the owner aware of programs like TRUST in the U.S.

I have suggested to my MP that a requirement that a fact sheet be included with sales of drones would be a good idea. (Especially for drones 250+ g which require a sRPAS license to fly.) Nothing fancy, just the 'fly your drone safely' page from Transport Canada with a link for further information would do.

It wouldn't stop idiots, but it would help a bit. Best Buy wouldn't like it, though, as it might cut sales…

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

This seems to come inside the box of every drone type aircraft sold in Australia.
Not sure if it's mandated to include it, or how they get them inside the packaging, but it's a great idea . . .

 

[YVRGUY]

This seems to come inside the box of every drone type aircraft sold in Australia.
Not sure if it's mandated to include it, or how they get them inside the packaging, but it's a great idea . . .

MASO,
That’s a great info poster. Maybe one more additional item…‘It’s illegal to fly within say 500 m of any emergency response (fire, police, ambulance) resources at the location being attended to.

As I said, looks great. What’s funny (peculiar), is I can take off from the deck of my home and fly 2 kilometres to an emergency scene and back again…and who knows where I came from?

I too get upset at the “idiots” and “morons” out there that tarnish the safety culture and consciousness we as a majority do hold. We DONT have to defend ourselves though.

The majority of this forum’s reputation precedes itself. No matter what, there will always be “morons” and “idiots” out there…for eternity. So, OMM if you read this…just keep flying safe and keep passing your valuable knowledge on to the next pilots.

 

[Tiger64]

Does aeroscope work with non DJI drones?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Does aeroscope work with non DJI drones?

From info gleaned reading about it ages ago, it could but limited in what it 'sees'.
Maybe that's refined now.
I guess a system like that, that DJI would like to market widely, they'd be aiming to have capability to stop or track any rogue drone flight, regardless of which manufacturer.
They'd have the tech now, I think.