$25,000 rewards approved for turning in drone operators

When we learned that San Bernardino County was going to consider offering large rewards for turning in drone operators who interfere with aviation operations on wildfires, we were not certain that the $75,000 appropriation would pass. But damn, it did.

The Board of Supervisors for the southern California county unanimously agreed on Tuesday, July 28, to allocate $25,000 rewards for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of operators of the drones that caused temporary halts to aircraft operations on three recent fires — the Lake fire near Barton Flats on June 24, the Mill 2 fire near Yucaipa on July 12, and the North fire near Cajon Pass on July 17.

This just might be effective. It is even possible that an unintended consequence of this action could be large numbers of reward seekers flocking to fires hoping to spot a drone operator and then later have a reward authorized for that fire.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Dick.