Careful spectators at Bayfield’s Fourth of July fireworks show may have noticed more than colorful pyrotechnics filling the night sky: a drone.
On two occasions, a drone with a green flashing light flew into the air space where shells were exploding, said Bruce Evans, chief of the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District.
The intrusion didn’t stop the fireworks show, even though it can be dangerous if a drone is knocked out of the sky, Evans said.
“If someone wants to take their chances with an expensive drone like that, and take a risk of a shell hitting it and blowing it out of the sky and damaging it, I guess it’s their deal,” he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits drones from being flown at night without a waiver, in which pilots must show they can perform operations safely.
The Bayfield Marshal’s Office had only three deputies on duty and was dealing with a domestic violence call, Evans said. They didn’t have time to track down the drone pilot, he said.
As drones gain in popularity, conflicts have become increasingly common.
Drones interrupted air operations four times last week over the Lightner Creek Fire west of Durango. Earlier this year, a drone was blamed for spooking a horse at a skijoring event in Silverton. The horse ran into a crowd, injuring a man and seriously injuring a woman.
Last week, an Arizona man was arrested on suspicion of felony endangerment for flying a drone over a wildfire, which required wildfire managers to clear the air space, potentially putting firefighters on the ground in harm’s way.
Federal agencies have so far been mum about enforcement actions in Southwest Colorado.
On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management confirmed the agency is investigating drone incursions over the Lightner Creek Fire, but she declined to release any further information.
And last month, the FAA denied a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Durango Herald seeking information about the Feb. 18 skijoring incident in Silverton, saying the case remains open.
“When there are no consequences for it, more people are going to do it, because people are going to say, ‘It’s a paper tiger law, nothing is going to happen to me,’” Evans said. “... It’s just a matter of time before one of these things is going to hurt somebody.”
shane@durangoherald.com
