Two drones temporarily halted air tanker operations Thursday on the Sterling Fire burning in the foothills north of San Bernardino, California, but operations soon resumed. The first drone was interfering with fire operations and that pilot has not been found. Another drone was reported by a concerned citizen and it was located. After reviewing the footage from the second aircraft it was determined that it was not interfering with fire operations.
The Sterling Fire. which has burned 100 acres north of San Bernardino, was reported about 6:30 p.m., on June 25. It spread north from the end of Sterling Avenue in San Bernardino into the San Bernardino National Forest. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
On June 24 a hobby drone flown over the Lake Fire east of San Bernardino, California caused a safety problem, requiring all firefighting aircraft to be grounded, according to CAL FIRE Public Information Officer Daniel Berlant. There has been no report that the pilot has been identified. The LA Times also has an article about that incident.