Firefighting aircraft collides with illegal drone
The fight against the devastating fires in Los Angeles is considerably restricted
On January 8, 2025, fires broke out in various places around Los Angeles (USA), which were intensified and fanned by hot winds. Just three days later, it was estimated that over 5,000 private homes had fallen victim to the flames.
Two CL-415 (Super Scooper) firefighting aircraft were used to fight the fire. On January 10, 2025, one of the two firefighting aircraft collided in mid-air with an illegal drone that had been flown over the area despite a ban on flying.
The drone reportedly crashed through a wing, forcing the firefighting aircraft to immediately return to the airfield, where it landed safely.
From this point on, only one firefighting aircraft was available for the firefighting operations. The CL-415 has a tank capacity of 6,137 liters.