Two people have been arrested for flying unauthorized drones in the areas affected by the Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Captain Jabari Williams said, per CNS. The news comes after an air tanker was grounded Thursday following a collision with a civilian drone.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told Deadline it had no additional information on the matter save confirmation of the report.
Though Canada sent dozens of reinforcements and a Super Scooper plane — which can gather 1,500 gallons of ocean water to drop on the fires — the aircraft was forced to go off-duty after it was hit Jan. 9 as it was working to suppress the Palisades blaze. 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 enacted by the Federal Aviation Administration amid the wildfires.
Per previous reporting, the drone left a fist-sized 3-by-6 inch 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 “heavily damaged” drone.
Airspace restrictions will remain in effect through Jan. 25 and currently apply to areas above and around the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, which have scorched a combined acreage of 37,000 since Jan. 7. Following the initial collision, stern warnings have been issued from authorities regarding prosecution and arrest for any individual flying such unmanned objects that could jeopardize fire rescue missions.
In additional fire updates, authorities estimate the combined blazes will cost $150 billion, marking the state emergency as the costliest wildfire in Southern California history. The death toll is currently at 24 individuals.