Poway takes aim at drones over wildfires

Poway may soon become the first city in the state, and perhaps the nation, to pass a law prohibiting the flying of privately-owned drones near wildfires and other public emergencies.

Meeting Tuesday night, the council informally agreed unanimously to have City Attorney Morgan Foley prepare an “urgency” ordinance intended to keep drones away from firefighting aircraft during wildfires. The council may approve it as soon as Sept. 1.

Foley told the council his preliminary research has concluded the ordinance would be the first in California and may be unprecedented in the nation.

Mayor Steve Vaus is pushing for the new law, noting that aerial firefighting efforts have been hampered several times across the state in recent months when tankers and helicopters were grounded so not to run the risk striking camera-equipped drones searching for video opportunities.

“With fire season upon us, in the interest of public safety and the safety of our firefighters and public safety personnel, we must take immediate action,” Vaus wrote in memo to his fellow councilmembers. He proposed an ordinance to prohibit the takeoff, landing or control of any “unmanned aerial vehicle” (UAV) within a two-mile radius of a wildfire or other public emergency in the city. Violators would be subject to confiscation of their UAV and would be fined $1,000.

Foley told the council that while the city has no jurisdiction once drones are in the air (the Federal Aviation Administration governs airspace), the city may be able to govern drones from a land-use approach. An ordinance might be crafted to prohibit the use of land within the city to launch, control or recover the small UAVs during declared emergencies, he said.

Councilman Jim Cunningham, an attorney, wondered whether the first-of-its-kind law would be the subject of legal challenges and asked Foley if he was comfortable with the assigned task.

“Comfortable? No. Challenged? Yes,” Foley replied.

Under the “urgency” model, the council could adopt the ordinance on Sept. 1 then spend 45 days monitoring the situation and possibly adding amendments to it, Foley said. After that, the ordinance could be renewed several times over the course of two years.

Word of Poway’s plans has already generated public attention, with reporters and camera crews from three local television stations in attendance Tuesday night.