A Kelowna realtor charged for flying a drone during a wildfire says he made a mistake and landed the drone as soon as he saw a helicopter.

Derek Leippi told iNFOnews.ca he was on his boat at the burnt-out Lake Okanagan Resort when he began using his drone.

“There were other boats by the hotel at the time, and I figured… I’ll take a few pictures of this old hotel because I love the place. I spent a lot of time there. And it was sad to see it,” Leippi said. “I wasn’t trying to be a hero and photograph any fires. That was not the intention. I was just photographing the hotel.”

Leippi said when he first saw the helicopter he landed his drone straight away.

“I wasn’t trying to hide anything,” he said.

The Conservation Officer Service followed the drone to his boat and confiscated it. Leippi gave them a statement.

This all happened in August 2023, shortly after the McDougall Creek wildfire ripped through the Okanagan Lake Resort.

It took 18 months before anything else happened but yesterday, Jan 21, he appeared in a Kelowna courtroom charged with a rarely used charge of operating equipment, machinery, a vehicle or a vessel, or act in a manner that interferes with fire control that is being carried out.

“It wasn’t like I was trying to fly it into a fire or look at the blaze or interfere with anything,” he said. “It was a simple… mistake.

“I should have thought better than to even try and get a photo in hindsight. It was a mistake to even try to take a photo of the hotel.”

He said he’d been out of town and thought the fire was done, as it had been almost two weeks since the initial blaze started.

He headed to his boat, which is docked opposite Lake Okanagan Resort. He saw other boats across the lake and went over to see what remained of the hotel.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Leippi said.

The 36-year-old said the fire was miles away at this point and there wasn’t even any smoke coming from the resort. Leippi said he didn’t see any firefighting aircraft until the helicopter appeared.

He reiterated he landed the drone the moment he saw the chopper.

Regardless, he’s still facing legal action under the BC Wildfire Act.

The maximum penalty is $100,000 and up to a year in jail.

His next court appearance is in February.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.