Water-dropping choppers were brought in to help keep the fire from spreading. The Los Angeles Police Department said a drone smacked into one of its helicopters, which was dispatched to the scene of the fire. Police said the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing.



Seems like every time there’s a fire in LA there’s some fuckhead flying a drone around. These pieces of shit need jail time.
If they are violating FAA regulations on their drone activity, they likely will face consequences. This article even mentions that they are seeking the operator so they can face justice.
If they violating faa regulations there no way to know who it was
They can violate faa regs and also leave their remoteID on accidentally. It might not be that hard
All I’ve seen in the past is some fines. It really doesn’t seem like enough, but I’m not in a great mood, so I’m probably over reacting.
Didn’t that guy who clipped the firefighting plane get banned from drones and like $100,000 in repair costs + penalties? Seems like a pretty good deterrent to me
I’ll trust your word on it, I can’t remember. I do remember there was something like 50 illegal drones over the Eaton Fire the other year. Not enough of a deterrent it seems.