Congress Wants Counter-Drone Powers at Wildfires, Not Just Stadiums

Three days after the House passed the SAFER SKIES Act authorizing local police to take down drones at stadiums, a bipartisan group of lawmakers quietly introduced the next phase of counter-drone expansion. The Wildfire Aerial Response Safety Act (H.R. 6618) looks like a simple study request on the surface, but buried in its language is a roadmap for giving firefighters and federal agencies the same drone-killing capabilities that local police just received for sporting events.

Representatives Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Joe Neguse (D-CO), and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) introduced the legislation, which would require the FAA to investigate five years of drone incursion data and evaluate “the use of reasonable force to disable, damage, or destroy a drone” as a potential solution. That language matters. Congress does not commission studies on destroying property unless it intends to authorize exactly that.

The Flat Fire Connection

Rep. Bynum cited a specific incident that prompted this bill: the Flat Fire near Sisters, Oregon in August 2025. During the fire’s initial attack, a recreational drone grounded all firefighting aircraft for 26 minutes. Those 26 minutes occurred during what Oregon Department of Forestry officials called the most critical window for containment.

“We know all too well that wildfires are challenging enough to get controlled without any additional obstacles,” Bynum said in her announcement. “The last thing we need is recreational drones getting in the way of our firefighters’ critical work to save lives and property.”

The Flat Fire ultimately burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed five homes near Sisters. Derek Gasperini, an information officer with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said he could not speculate whether those lost 26 minutes would have saved any structures, but noted that county rural fire protection districts typically catch 95% of fires at 10 acres or less. The Flat Fire escaped that threshold during its initial response delay.

What the Bill Actually Requires

The legislation directs the FAA Administrator, in consultation with the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture, to conduct a comprehensive study within 18 months covering:

• The number of drone incursions that interfered with wildfire suppression over the past five calendar years
• How each incursion affected the time required to achieve complete suppression
• Delays to aerial firefighting response units
• Federal costs associated with these disruptions

The bill also requires the FAA to evaluate prevention measures, and this is where it gets interesting. The specific options listed include counter-drone radio towers, the use of reasonable force to disable, damage, or destroy drones, seizure using net devices, and educational materials. Rep. Ciscomani specifically referenced this as an effort to “examine real, on-the-ground tools that first responders can use to neutralize these incursions.”

This Bill Follows the SAFER SKIES Playbook

Here is what most coverage of H.R. 6618 is missing: this bill arrived exactly three days after the House passed the SAFER SKIES Act by a 312-112 vote, authorizing state and local law enforcement to disable drones at major sporting events. That legislation, bundled into the FY 2026 NDAA, became law with President Trump’s signature and represents the most significant expansion of domestic counter-drone authority since 2018.

The Wildfire Aerial Response Safety Act reads like preparatory work for extending those same authorities to wildfire operations. It follows the same template: commission a study documenting the scope of the problem, quantify the costs, and evaluate mitigation technologies. When the study returns in 18 months with data showing that drone incursions cost the federal government tens of millions of dollars in extended suppression operations, Congress will have the justification to authorize counter-drone capabilities for wildfire agencies.

We have already seen the infrastructure being built. FEMA’s $500 million counter-drone grant program is distributing detection, tracking, and mitigation equipment to World Cup host states. The FBI’s National Counter UAS Training Center in Huntsville, Alabama just graduated its first class of state and local officers trained in drone interdiction. The technology and training pipeline exists. The question is how broadly Congress will authorize its use.

The Drone Incursion Data

The National Interagency Fire Center tracks drone incursions during wildfire operations. During the 2024 wildfire season, the center documented 21 public drone incursions across the country, with 10 of those incidents forcing firefighting aircraft to shut down operations. California led with five incidents, followed by Arizona and New Mexico with three each.

The 2024 numbers remained below the seasonal average of 23 incursions. The worst year on record was 2016, with 41 documented incidents. But those statistics predate the January 2025 events in Los Angeles that changed the political calculus around drone interference.

During the Palisades Fire, a DJI Mini drone collided with a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft, creating a 3-by-6-inch hole in the left wing and grounding the aircraft for five days during active wildfire operations. The FBI launched a neighborhood canvass to identify the operator, and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced a zero-tolerance approach to illegal drone operations in restricted airspace. That incident generated national headlines and put drone interference with emergency operations on Congress’s radar in a way that annual statistics never had.

In July 2025, a drone reportedly collided with a rescue helicopter during catastrophic flooding in Kerr County, Texas, forcing an emergency landing during operations that ultimately saw more than 100 fatalities.

DroneXL’s Take Counter-Drone Powers at Wildfires

This bill is not about gathering information Congress does not already have. The National Interagency Fire Center publishes drone incursion statistics annually. The FAA tracks temporary flight restriction violations. What H.R. 6618 actually accomplishes is building the legislative record that justifies extending counter-drone authority to wildfire operations.

The timing is deliberate. Three days after the SAFER SKIES Act passed the House, this bill appeared. Once thousands of state and local officers complete FBI counter-drone training and receive FEMA-funded mitigation equipment for World Cup security, the infrastructure will exist to deploy those same capabilities during wildfire emergencies. This study creates the pathway to authorize that deployment.

For recreational drone operators, the practical message remains unchanged: stay away from TFRs around active wildfires. Check B4UFLY before every flight. The difference coming is that “grounding firefighting aircraft” will evolve from an abstract violation of federal airspace restrictions to an immediate confrontation with counter-drone systems designed to disable your aircraft on the spot.

Oregon has already passed legislation escalating drone interference with wildfires to felony status. The federal government is building the enforcement infrastructure to match. When this study returns in 18 months documenting the full costs of drone incursions, expect Congress to authorize wildfire agencies to do more than just ground their own aircraft.

What do you think about extending counter-drone authority to wildfire operations? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Editorial Note: This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of AI to ensure technical accuracy and archive retrieval. All insights, industry analysis, and perspectives were provided exclusively by Haye Kesteloo and our other DroneXL authors, editors, and Youtube partners to ensure the “Human-First” perspective our readers expect.