Drone operator in McDougall Creek Wildfire zone caught, faces fines up to $100,000

Conservation officers supporting firefighting efforts on the McDougall Creek Wildfire in and around West Kelowna seized a drone on Sunday while patrolling on Okanagan Lake.

“Conservation Officers spotted a drone interfering with a helicopter actively bucketing from the lake,” a posting on the BC Conservation Service’s Facebook page says. “The drone operator was identified by Conservation Officers, and the drone was seized. Charges are pending against one individual.”

Fines for such an offence can reach $100,000 and could result in jail sentences of up to one year.

But it’s not just drones that are prohibited from the areas around the fires.

An Area Restriction has also been imposed in the forests far outside the evacuation order and alert areas that have been imposed.

“Any camping, hiking, mountain biking – that’s something we don’t want to see, especially if conditions change,” BC Wildfire Service information officer Sarah Hall told iNFOnews.ca. “We don’t know who’s in the area and it would be hard to communicate with people that are either camping overnight or don’t have radios.”

That area restriction reaches as far north as the Sugarloaf Forest Service Road, which is north of Killiney Beach. The southern boundary is, roughly, the Okanagan Connector.

It extends to the west past Windy Lake on the Bear Creek Forest Service Road and Sucker Lake to the north.

See the map and more details here.

The area restriction is currently in place until noon on Sept. 8 or until it is rescinded or extended.

The airspace restriction applies to any non-firefighting aircraft, including private planes, gliders, drones and recreational air-sports such as hang-gliders and paragliders.

“When an incursion into a restricted airspace occurs, firefighting aircraft may need to be grounded while the airspace is secured, or flight paths may be impacted, slowing down response time and effectiveness of water or retardant delivery,” a government of BC website stresses.

Hall has heard of a couple of incidents of drones flying in the McDougal Creek Wildfire area but is hoping social media messages BC Wildfire Service is putting out will prevent further incidents.

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