Monday, July 11, 2016

5th Drone Intrusion-July 10, 2016

***Media Advisory***

For Immediate Release
July 10, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Contact: Saddle Fire Information (435) 590-2736 or (435) 680-0354
Dixie National Forest – 5th Drone Intrusion- July 10, 2016

PINE VALLEY, Utah – A fifth incident of the public using drones in the Saddle Fire area halted aircraft operations around 6:30pm this evening. There is a five mile temporary flight restriction currently over the Saddle Fire making it illegal to fly a drone in the area.

Everyone is reminded to never fly drones over a wildfire. If you fly, we can’t.
Because of the inaccessibility of the fire perimeter, fire managers utilize aircraft to support firefighters in challenging areas.

Per the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, 43 CFR 9212.1(f), it is illegal to resist or interfere with the efforts of firefighter(s) to extinguish a fire. The Utah Legislature passed HB126 which became law last month. The law makes it a misdemeanor to fly drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) in a prohibited area, and it is a felony if a drone collides with firefighting equipment.



Additionally, today firefighters made some progress with containment now at 45% with a total of 2291 acres. A public fire information meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 12th at 7pm at the Pine Valley Fire Station at 680 East Main Street, Pine Valley, UT.

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