CNN reports the Camp Fire isn’t even halfway done burning. Meanwhile, drone teams are already deployed after the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA, in what is called the largest UAV disaster response effort in the history of California. As we have seen with earlier wildfires, flooding, and hurricanes, drones can help to quickly map and visualize disaster-struck areas and provide assistance during the recovery.
Authorities say that a drone crash sparked a wildfire northwest of Flagstaff, Ariz. More than 300 acres were burned before the fire was contained late Tuesday afternoon. Visibility was limited as a result of the smoke produced by the burning grasslands.
Aerial firefighting operations battling Bear Fire in Santa Cruz Mountains, were briefly suspended after a drone was seen flying in the area. The crucial firefighting operations in the Santa Cruz Mountains were stopped around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday earlier this week, as officials worked to remove a drone from the area, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office officials.
The FAA said on Monday, that hobbyist drones are becoming a problem in the California wildfires that continue to burn. So far at least two drone incidents have been reported in which unauthorized amateur drones were interfering with firefighters.
Earlier last week in the Santa Rosa area, where the mail was still being delivered after the fires had gone through, there was a drone incursion reported. Last Sunday Cal Fire helicopters were halted in Petaluma after a drone had been spotted.
Even though most homes have completely burned to the ground and the homeowners have left, the mailman is still doing his rounds, as captured on video by drone pilot Douglas Thron. The almost eerie and apocalypse-like short film Thron uploaded to YouTube shows the extent of the devastation. Apart from the mailman doing his job, the streets show no sign of life. Houses are burned to the ground and skeletons of cars are still sitting in the driveways. Why would the USPS deliver mail to homes that no longer exist?
Drone footage just surfaced on Twitter showing the wildfires in Northern California that already have claimed one person’s life, injured many others and destroyed 1500 homes and businesses in what is called one of the worst firestorms in Northern California’s history. An estimated 20,000 people were forced to evacuate as roughly 14 wind-driven wildfires started on Monday. Collectively the fires cover an estimated 57,000 acres in the Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties.
