A firefighting plane is grounded today in California, after hitting a drone in restricted airspace while fighting the raging fires ongoing around LA.
Details are scarce, but the Canadian CL-415 “Super Scooper”, call sign “Quebec-1”, took a football-size hole through one of its wings from the drone.
Canada sent 2 Super Scoopers to help fight the LA fires
The incident forced all planes to be temporarily grounded as the fires raged on. The plane in question is tail C-GQBG. Canada sent two of them to help.
The Super Scoopers are picking-up 1,500 gallons of water from the ocean and dropping it onto the fires. Other assets and crews are dropping retardants and fresh water from nearby lakes and reservoirs.
We expect the plane to be airborne again soon, based on the damage in the wing photo from LAFD. The FAA is investigating the collision. The FAA has not authorized anyone unaffiliated with the Los Angeles firefighting operations to fly drones in restricted airspace. It’s unknown whether the drone was official use for the fires, or a hobbyist ignoring the law.
According to the FAA, flying a drone in the midst of firefighting efforts is a federal crime punishable by up to a year in prison or up to $75,000 fine.
“When people fly drones near wildfires, fire response agencies often ground their aircraft to avoid the potential for a midair collision,” says the FAA website. “Delaying airborne response poses a threat to firefighters on the ground, residents, and property in nearby communities, and it can allow wildfires to grow larger.”
Numerous drones have been sighted dangerously close to firefighting ops all week
Radio chatter this week has picked up numerous drone sightings over the fires and in the way or aerial assets, likely from ignorant hobbyists unfamiliar with the laws. Or worse, they simply don’t care.
There was another pilot that put up a drone to take pictures. It also grounded all aerial firefighting in the area temporarily.
Legitimate news media are in helicopters and operating drones outside of restricted airspace to document & operate in cooperation with authorities.
Cal Fire crews faced similar issues in 2024, when fighting several massive wildfires burning across Southern California.
