Los Angeles wildfires: Firefighting plane grounded for 3 days after drone strike causes 'fist-sized hole'
Federal authorities and California police are investigating after someone flew a drone into the wing of a firefighting aircraft as it carried water to battle the raging wildfires across Los Angeles – causing a "fist-sized hole" and knocking it out of service for days at a crucial time.
It happened as the plane, the Quebec 1 Super Scooper that flew down from Canada to help, was working to contain the Palisades Fire, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
It was one of only two Super Scooper aircraft in use in Southern California at the time.
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Around 1 p.m. Thursday, a civilian drone flew into its wing, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott.
"The pilots were unaware that they hit the drone," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said in a press conference on Friday. "It wasn’t until they landed at Van Nuys airport that the maintenance staff noticed that there was a fist-sized hole in the leading edge of the wing, inboard of the landing light."
The FAA is investigating, and a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that interfering with firefighters is a federal crime punishable by up to a year in prison and a $75,000 fine.
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"The FAA treats these violations seriously and immediately considers swift enforcement action for these offenses," the spokesperson said. "The FAA has not authorized anyone unaffiliated with the Los Angeles firefighting operations to fly drones in the TFRs (temporary flight restrictions)."
No injuries have been reported. CalFire said it expects that the plane should be back in the air by Monday.
Authorities urge civilians not to fly drones near wildfires because they can get in the way of low-flying firefighting aircraft and delay emergency responders. Pilot distractions can be deadly.
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The longer the delay, the more the fire can spread.
The fires have killed at least 10 people and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and businesses. The Palisades fire, the largest of the multiple fires raging in Southern California, had burned more than 20,000 acres and was only 8% contained as of Friday morning.
Evacuation orders were issued for more than 180,000 residents earlier this week. Some have been lifted.
Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.