Utah Could Disable Drones Near Wildfires

Drones are amazing pieces of technology, letting us capture moments and events from all kinds of angles without highly specialised equipment or putting people at risk. Sadly some have decided to use drones in areas that are less than appropriate but in a first of the kind ruling lawmakers in Utah could soon see drones disabled near wildfires in order to help the general public rather than a YouTube account’s popularity.

The new bill, if approved, would see firefighters and law enforcement agencies given the power to shoot down, spoof or disable a drone that is found to be flying over areas which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has closed off. This comes after a wildfire south of Salt Lake City grew after firefighters were forced to ground aircraft due to a drone flying in the wildfires area.

With drones flying not only near wildfires and airports but also in areas banned by aviation authorities, such as during political visits, the problem of how do you stop them is being addressed the world over. With fines of up to $5,000 (going up to $10,000 if an aircraft over a fire hits a drone or $15,000 if the aircraft then crashes), this legislation could be the first of many addressing the use of drones in “controlled” areas.