Officials remind people not to fly drones near Ruidoso wildfire areas
RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – As Ruidoso opens to the general public, fire officials are reminding people to ground their drones around the wildfires. Officials said eight drone sightings have been reported in the last three days putting firefighting efforts at risk. They said those drones have mostly been around areas where structures have been lost.
Wildfire Resources
Officials said if drones are flying in the area, they could be forced to ground their own planes. “Flying drones near wildfires is extremely dangerous. Even a very small drone can cause catastrophic damage if it were to run into one of our aircraft,” said Air Operations Director Albert Newman, Incident Management Team #5.
Officials said drones have not forced them to shut down air operations around the fire so far. The FAA reminded drone pilots it is a federal crime to interfere with firefighting aircraft with up to a year in prison and a $20,000 fine possible. The FAA currently has a no-fly zone around the wildfires area until July 3.
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