The FAA, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), and other authorities have a simple but urgent message for drone pilots in the Los Angeles area: “If you fly, we can’t.”
The warning comes after an unauthorized drone punched a fist-sized hole in a Bombardier Canadair CL-415 firefighting aircraft, also known as a “Super Scooper,” that was dousing Los Angeles-area wildfires on Thursday. The aircraft landed safely, the FAA said. But CAL FIRE told The War Zone that the collision prompted a temporary grounding of all aircraft responding to the Palisades Fire. The FBI is searching for the drone pilot and has shared photos of the recovered drone.
