Not again: rubbernecking private drone operators force grounding of firefighting planes

It's amazing how many creeps there are in this world.  

New Zealand Herald - June 13: YUCAIPA, California (Associated Press) Authorities said a drone has again temporarily halted air tankers that were fighting a wildfire.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Carol Underhill said the fire broke out on the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest Sunday afternoon, prompting the evacuation of four homes.

She said firefighters at a nearby air tanker base responded swiftly and stopped the fire's forward spread at about 35 acres (14 hectares).

However, she said fire officials grounded the planes for about eight minutes until the drone left the area of the fire.

It was the fourth time in the last month that the spotting of a drone over a California wildfire prompted the Forest Service to ground the firefighting planes out of fear that the drones will collide with the aircraft.

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