Drone Stops Air Support On Alaska Fire In Provo
Aug 1, 2019, 5:15 PM | Updated: 9:10 pm
PROVO, Utah – A drone intrusion in the fire zone of the Alaska fire immediately shut down all of the planes and helicopters assigned to this fire out of safety reasons Thursday morning.
With steep terrain, that aerial support was needed on the fire.
Of course, anytime there is a fire, the airspace is controlled by fire bosses for all aircraft, including drones.
We checked the FAA’s drone app, B4UFLY yesterday and there was red all over this area of Provo, where the fire is burning and where aircraft were making drops.
It is a crime to fly a drone and severe penalties if you are caught.
Fire officials say it puts the entire fire operation in jeopardy and firefighters in harms way.
“We had firefighters working up in the fire and they actually saw it, they saw it twice, they had just done a flight with the helicopter and we were getting another helicopter ready to do recon on the fire and that is when we heard about it,” said Kim Osborn, fire information officer.
Overall, firefighters say they now have the fire contained beyond the 10 percent reported this morning and believe it has burned more than 400 acres.
The investigation into how it started is ongoing, but it is believed to be a human caused fire.
If have any information on the operator of the drone, call Provo Police at 801-852-6210.
