News, deep dives, and analysis — every Wildfire story, newest first.
A British Columbia court has ordered Kelowna realtor Derek Leippi to pay a CAD $5,000 fine (roughly USD $3,600) for flying a DJI drone from a boat on Okanagan Lake during the 2023 McDougall Creek wildfire, an incident that pulled a helicopter pilot off fire suppression to chase the unmanned aircraft. PetaPixel reported the sentencing…
Oregon DOA files FCC drone dominance comments proposing three mountain test sites, spectrum reform, and a waiver process for public safety drone operations.
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have three stories for you this week. The ACLU releases a major report on drone surveillance and airspace restriction. The House passes the ACERO Act for wildfire drone operations. And a questionable South Carolina bill. So, let’s get to it. ACLU publishes major report on drone surveillance…
When a wildfire tore through Mount Ogi in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, ground crews couldn’t reach it and helicopters stopped flying at dark. That’s when the drones went to work. Blue Innovation Co., Ltd. conducted nighttime aerial imaging flights over the burn area, filling the critical hours between sunset and the next morning’s helicopter operations, as…
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 390, the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Act, by a unanimous vote on February 24, 2026, sending the bipartisan wildfire drone bill to the Senate. Sponsored by Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA-20) and co-led by Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-4), the legislation directs NASA to expand its existing…
As Seneca deploys autonomous firefighting drones to Aspen, Colorado, the industry watches to see if 100-pound suppressant payloads can stop wildfires before human crews arrive. A look at the tech, the $60M backing, and the hard reality of wind constraints in aerial firefighting.
The U.S. Forest Service used a modified Freefly Alta X carrying Drone Amplified’s IGNIS aerial ignition system to conduct prescribed burns at the Wilson Ridge unit in Pisgah National Forest last weekend, treating 290 acres of hazardous fuel in terrain too steep and remote to safely put ground crews into, as they announced on their…
The FAA's 2025 enforcement report details fines up to $36,770 against 18 drone operations and certificate actions against eight pilots — including one emergency revocation near Mar-a-Lago. Here's every case broken down.
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