The Butte County District Attorney’s office is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration and the FBI to investigate a drone that interfered with CAL FIRE aircraft during the critical first hours of the agency's efforts to control the Dixie Fire.
The FAA referred questions to the FBI's Sacramento field office, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the investigation.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said the FBI is providing much needed resources, technology to try to identify the drone and its operator.
Federal law enforces a civil penalty of as much as $20,000 for any drone operator who interferes with emergency response efforts. According to Ramsey, the possible sentence for the individual involved could be up to two years in federal prison.
On July 13, just half an hour after the Dixie Fire was reported around 5:45 p.m., CAL FIRE sent aircraft to the area to contain the blaze, said Ramsey. "They were able to effectively paint a box around it [the fire] with retardant," he said. The plan was to then work inwards to extinguish the one to two-acre fire.
But around 7:45 p.m., a CAL FIRE pilot noticed the drone appear as the agency's air tankers and a water-dropping helicopter worked to extinguish the blaze. And as per their protocol, they stopped operations to prevent an "unfortunate collision" said Ramsey.
A CAL FIRE aircraft followed the drone as it paused over the fire and then lost sight of it upriver. Without the drone in sight, the effort had to be called off, and emergency responders lost between "half an hour to 45 minutes," said Ramsey.
"We believe they could have effectively controlled the fire to one to two acres with the additional time that they were robbed of," he said.
Despite some speculation that the drone might have been one of PG&E’s, according to Ramsey all evidence points to the contrary. As of right now, he believes the drone most likely belongs to an individual. "A number of tangents are still being explored," he said.
Anyone with information regarding the event is encouraged to contact the Butte County District Attorney’s office.
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