A drone flown over a Northern Rivers bushfire on Saturday caused the NSW Rural Fire Service to ground all firefighting aircraft in the area.
Flying your drone over or near a bushfire could put people, property or other aircraft at risk—and could cost you up to $10,000 in fines or penalties.
CASA’s ‘Can I fly there?’ app is updated with the latest fire and emergency operations for all Australian states and territories (except Northern Territory).
Remember, drones must not be operated in a way that creates a hazard to another aircraft, person or property. Fly responsibly and keep your drone away from emergency services. If you fly, they can’t.
Be drone smart—check out drone flyer for the app, helpful videos, a run-down on the simple rules and quick quiz to keep your drone flying fun and safe.
Whilst it’s safety as usual grounding all a/c cause one drone was spotted seems a bit over the top! There could be 10 drones flying around a bushfire & 9 of them may not have been spotted. Take into a account large birds that thermal around fires due the rising heat and the pray that get flushed out due the fires there’s plenty of risk associated with flying, some common sense also needs to prevail before we all must stay in bed as its the safest way to behave!!