Those living in and around fire zones were also told to stop using drones to capture the scene.

umanbean · Aug 27, 2023

BigAl07 said:
It's called the REPORT button.

This community is largely self-policing, which means that moderators will respond and react to problems reported.

I apologize for my part, won't happen again.

I think I'm spending way too much time around here, and definitely too much time in this thread... it's just too darn hot outside to get out and do anything!

MAvic_South_Oz · Aug 27, 2023

Torque said:
With some of the comments here, it appears that some have little to no value for human lives.

This includes their own lives.
A drone pilot would probably take on an extremely high risk to fly their drone near a true bushfire / wildfire, needing to likely be within a matter of a mile or two, or on an adjacent ridge line etc to be able to maintain control their drone.

I wonder how many know how these fires move ?

shb · Aug 27, 2023

Torque said:
With some of the comments here, it appears that some have little to no value for human lives.

Or maybe they are just completely unaware of how forest fires are fought? Do they think a drone would be harmless because a bunch of firemen are simply going to drive their fire truck through the forest blasting water, and that is how these fires are fought?

I never said a drone would be harmless, and I'm totally against flying them near active fires that are being fought by firefighters. But once some dummy does that, you still have to take the small risk to fight the fire, rather than just let it burn.

anotherlab · Aug 27, 2023

shb said:
I never said a drone would be harmless, and I'm totally against flying them near active fires that are being fought by firefighters. But once some dummy does that, you still have to take the small risk to fight the fire, rather than just let it burn.

You want to avoid the risk, no matter how small, of colliding with an unauthorized drone

Miner_jeff · Aug 30, 2023

If anyone wants to see close-ups of some of the results of the fire (not endorsing tragedy tourism).
Have a look here (Local News) www.Castanet.net
Or I can take a few photos from my neighborhood once it's safe to use the local hiking trails again or just from the streets that are no longer closed to traffic. I live in one of the neighborhoods directly affected by the fires in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country. My family and I were ordered to evacuate late on the evening August 17 due to the proximity of the fires to homes and routes of escape. We were allowed to return 7 days later after nearby the fires were considered held.
Check the news archives for reports of the fires here: Castanet.net - Kelowna's Homepage
Fire map timeline Canadian Wildland Fire Information System | Interactive map zoom in to Kelowna (South Central BC, Western most province) Fire began August 16, 2023, as of August 30, 2023 it's still not contained or considered under control near the community of West Kelowna. The latest count I've heard was 189 structures lost in 2 communities.
The wind was fanning the flames and it made it grow so much quicker, We have been in a severe drought condition for some time which also aids the spread of fires. Click through a few days to see the fire area rapidly grow since its discovery. This growth is with air assets and firefighters battling it continuously. I watched the fire descend toward and devour many structures from the East side of the lake from a friend's place with a view of the lake's West shore and hillside. IG David T Wood lives on the same ridge also with a view looking West, He has some video from his perspective found here: https://www.instagram.com/davidtswood/
Shortly after we received word that the fire (+high winds from the southwest + embers) had jumped the lake and started burning on the slopes of the lake's East side. We evacuated soon after.
I can't imagine how much worse it could have been without the airborne fire fighting heroes.

Fly safe everyone, lives and livelyhoods may depend on it.

Miner_Jeff

EssenYVR · Aug 30, 2023

Miner_jeff said:
...we received word that the fire (+high winds from the southwest + embers) had jumped the lake and started burning on the slopes of the lake's East side.

For those not familiar with the area, @Miner_jeff is talking about Okanagan Lake, which is about 90 km (50 miles) long. The fire did not go around the lake, it literally jumped over it near its mid-point where the lake is around 1 mile wide. Burning embers carried by high winds ignited the dry foliage on the other shore.

Imagine trying to stop a fire that can jump over a mile of water.

Miner_Jeff, I'm glad you're back in your house, and especially glad that the fire hasn't claimed any lives so far.

sawman · Sep 2, 2023

umanbean said:
... it's just too darn hot outside to get out and do anything!

Boy howdy, ain't that the truth! I've been holding off on a couple mid-day mapping flights cause I'm scared of the drone getting too hot and shutting down. It's been a toasty summer for sure.

Robert Prior · Sep 2, 2023

BigAl07 said:
With all due respect, and our patience is wearing very thin with you on this matter, you are clueless about how Dangerous true Wildfire Fighting really is.

Are the people objecting clueless, or do they just not care?

Currently in Alberta there's a lot of online complaining because the government has brought in a law that vehicles must slow down when passing emergency workers if they can't safely give them a full lane clearance. The arguments from those who want to blow by paramedics at 110 km/h (or faster) sound much the same: full of concern that they might not get to do what they want, and dismissing any concern that their actions might be dangerous ("But I'm a safe driver!").

Robert Prior · Sep 2, 2023

MAvic_South_Oz said:
I wonder how many know how these fires move ?

I've been caught in a bushfire. 4m flamefront and moving at a jog, and it hadn't really got established yet. A bit more wind and I likely wouldn't have seen the 80s.

They can move really fornicating fast even in light winds, is what I'm saying. Even professionals get trapped.

Some professional literature on the subject:

Canadian Wildland Fire Information System | Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS)

cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca

And a boardgame simulation written by a fire research scientist, which is a much safer way to see what a fire can do:

SMOKEJUMPERS

microgamedesigngroup.com

MS Coast · Sep 2, 2023

Robert Prior said:
I've been caught in a bushfire. 4m flamefront and moving at a jog, and it hadn't really got established yet. A bit more wind and I likely wouldn't have seen the 80s.

They can move really fornicating fast even in light winds, is what I'm saying. Even professionals get trapped.

And if it's burning up a slope, it moves even faster. And you're moving slower.

mavic3usa · 2026-02-05T18:10:16-0500

mavic3usa said:
Was going to say:

...however, this continues to happen and it's a problem so what are the suggestions to resolve this, what are we going to do about it? We can't just do nothing and let it continue or else that will only prove one thing, it's not really a problem that needs to be fixed. Is this another issue (like so many others) that we are so paralyzed that we cannot resolve? Somebody has to find the answer because more drones are flying, more incidents are occurring, RID is inbound, and I keep reading reports of incursions increasing more often. Frankly I'm fresh out of ideas and I'd like to know what is being done to really combat the problem rather than just "reporting" them. We have smart people here.

Honestly I don't think RID makes this go away, there has to be a different answer, a better answer. I honestly don't think drones will all of a sudden disappear from the fire scene because of RID, because even with RID, people will fly their drones to those scene for the same reasons. The answer can't be crack down harder, harsher punishment, is it? But I could be wrong....because I don't fly drones to fires.

Nearly three years ago, I asked "what are we going to do about it?"
Guess what? Nothing.
I find it hard to believe no one knows the answer or a solution.
I know what isn't the answer: New restrictions; more useless laws that don't resolve the problem; higher fines and penalties.

Easy to get angry when it's a recreational pilot making a mistake even if it's "innocent" so let's hear the outrage from the community with this one, do I hear one or two years in jail?

Drone Delays LifeFlight Helicopter Carrying Critically Ill Child At Primary Children's Hospital In Utah

A surveying drone flying directly above a LifeFlight helicopter at Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi, Utah forced all air operations to halt while a child

dronexl.co

MS Coast · 2026-02-05T19:01:34-0500

mavic3usa said:
Nearly three years ago, I asked "what are we going to do about it?"
Guess what? Nothing.
I find it hard to believe no one knows the answer or a solution.
I know what isn't the answer: New restrictions; more useless laws that don't resolve the problem; higher fines and penalties.

Easy to get angry when it's a recreational pilot making a mistake even if it's "innocent" so let's hear the outrage from the community with this one, do I hear one or two years in jail?

Drone Delays LifeFlight Helicopter Carrying Critically Ill Child At Primary Children's Hospital In Utah

A surveying drone flying directly above a LifeFlight helicopter at Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi, Utah forced all air operations to halt while a child

dronexl.co

The article cited says that it was a survey drone and the company had been contacted. So, presumably a Part 107 pilot, rather than recreational. The article also notes that he was flying BVLOs and was not aware of the helicopter. Making a flight without checking for heliports on the route hardly reflects professional operations planning.

I'd be astonished at a prison sentence over this. I'd expect a substantial fine, though. (I'm not a legal professional.)

mavic3usa · 2026-02-05T20:49:36-0500

MS Coast said:
The article cited says that it was a survey drone and the company had been contacted. So, presumably a Part 107 pilot, rather than recreational. The article also notes that he was flying BVLOs and was not aware of the helicopter. Making a flight without checking for heliports on the route hardly reflects professional operations planning.

I'd be astonished at a prison sentence over this. I'd expect a substantial fine, though. (I'm not a legal professional.)

Where's the outrage?

anotherlab · 2026-02-05T21:14:01-0500

mavic3usa said:
Where's the outrage?

The pilot operating the drone made a bunch of mistakes. Should he be fined? I think so.

I don't think you can compare it with hobbyist flyers getting in the way of first responders.

mavic3usa · 2026-02-05T23:19:36-0500

anotherlab said:
The pilot operating the drone made a bunch of mistakes. Should he be fined? I think so.

I don't think you can compare it with hobbyist flyers getting in the way of first responders.

So no outrage for this one? No anger that someone's life was put in jeopardy for [insert your favorite reason here].

You cannot compare it to hobbyist flyers getting in the way of first responders, agreed. Do not interfere (and IMO just existing and being there is not interfering but that's not the topic here).

How about when the news media drone is on the scene before anyone else, gathering information for public interest, and someone says you have no idea if the police or fire helicopter needs to arrive on the scene and they can't do that as long as your drone is flying, you need to get out of here with that drone, and how dare you jeopardize lives....please don't make me dig up the posts. Can you say the same about this one since it actually put a life in danger?

I'm trying to understand why recreational pilots are the only outrageous drone problems and everyone else seems to be getting "a pass." The anger that is expressed when a kid flying a drone near a regular professional ballgame (apparently trying to steal copyright footage) is eye-popping with a dozen law-enforcement agencies involved, FBI, and arrests and federal court. Delayed the game for 2 minutes and put 45,000 people in danger I guess. I don't like it either but I don't freak out and overreact to it, thinking about creating new laws and raising fines higher.

Are you angry that another Amazon zone has crashed and splashed pieces and parts all over the neighborhood and fires endangering people and property?

anotherlab · 2026-02-06T00:24:07-0500

mavic3usa said:
....I'm trying to understand why recreational pilots are the only outrageous drone problems and everyone else seems to be getting "a pass." The anger that is expressed when a kid flying a drone near a regular professional ballgame (apparently trying to steal copyright footage) is eye-popping with a dozen law-enforcement agencies involved, FBI, and arrests and federal court. Delayed the game for 2 minutes and put 45,000 people in danger I guess. I don't like it either but I don't freak out and overreact to it, thinking about creating new laws and raising fines higher.....

I never said the survey pilot should get a pass. I did say there should be consequences.

mavic3usa said:
....Are you angry that another Amazon zone has crashed and splashed pieces and parts all over the neighborhood and fires endangering people and property?

What sort of outrage and people shaking their fists at the sky were you expecting for the Amazon drone crash? That just happened the other day. The "all over the neighborhood" bit is over the top, but the risk of injury and property damage can not be ignored.

Amazon has a few questions to answer. Starting with "Why was the drone so close to the building?"