Two people were arrested for flying unauthorized drones in areas affected by the Eaton Fire, Los Angeles Police Chief Captain Jabari Williams said. This news comes after an air tanker was grounded on Thursday after colliding with a civilian drone.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told Deadline it has no additional information on the matter other than to confirm the report.
Although Canada sent dozens of reinforcements and a Super Scooper plane — which can collect 1,500 gallons of ocean water to drop on fires — the plane was forced out of service after it was hit on Jan. 9 while working to suppress fires. The fire. In the latest update, the FBI said it has launched an investigation to find the operator of the private drone that caused the collision. According to authorities, the operator violated temporary flight restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration amid the wildfires.
According to previous reports, the drone left a 3-by-6-inch fist-sized hole in the plane's left wing, though the damage wasn't noticed until firefighters returned to the ground. No one was injured, and officials were able to recover the drone, which was “severely damaged.”
The airspace restrictions will remain in place until January 25, and currently apply to areas above and around the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, which have burned a total area of 37,000 hectares since January 7. Following the initial collision, strict warnings were issued by authorities regarding the prosecution and arrest of any individual flying such unmanned objects that could jeopardize fire rescue missions.
In additional fire updates, authorities estimate the combined fires will cost $150 billion, marking the state's emergency as the costliest wildfire in Southern California's history. The death toll currently stands at 24 people.
