Personal drone' sparks 335-acre wildfire north of Flagstaff

Once again the FAA makes absolutely NO Sense. So if I am a hobbyist
who knows NOTHING about airspace, flight paths, regulations, etc. I
can just call up the local tower tell them I am flying and
where.....if I even know my true relationship to the tower, and I can
fly my drone. But If I am a Part 107 operator, in my case even a
private pilot for the last 22 years, completed the Part 107 course,
know all about airspace, regulations, manned aircraft procedures and
airport traffic patterns, I have to submit an online form to FAA and
wait up to 90 days to get permission to fly in the same airspace as my
hobbyist friend.......LUDICROUS.

Posted by: Roger Mullins | March 7, 2018 12:32 PM
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I'm sure the FAA believes the fallacy that drones are of no concern to
the legacy trained air space users nor to the general public for that
matter and that these so called hobbyist will abide by ridiculous FAA
rules.

Yesterday a small hobby drone crashed in Flagstaff and started a 300
acre forest fire, so far nobody knows who was in control and no idea
as to who's it was.

It seems that the hobby drone industry is now becoming another big
political lobby organization with the ability to get whatever they
want by throwing donation money (bribes) around.

Posted by: Mike Asher | March 7, 2018 1:47 PM
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https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...aff/401493002/

'Personal drone' sparks 335-acre wildfire north of Flagstaff
Jason Pohl, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 5:35 p.m. MT March
6, 2018
Wildfire

(Photo: Coconino National Forest)

A "personal drone" burst into flames Tuesday afternoon, sparking a
wildfire that quickly grew to more than 300 acres in northern Arizona,
officials said.

The Kendrick Fire, southeast of Kendrick Park and northwest of
Flagstaff, started about 12:35 p.m. and quickly blackened about 335
acres of grass before crews stopped its spread, Coconino National
Forest spokesman George Jozens said.

About 30 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and Summit Fire and
Medical worked to quell the fire. They set fires around Chapel of the
Holy Dove on U.S. Highway 180, slowing the first uncontrolled spread.
A "personal drone" caught fire on March 6, 2018, and

A "personal drone" caught fire on March 6, 2018, and started a
335-acre wildfire, according to the Coconino National Forest. (Photo:
Coconino National Forest)

Jozens said the area has received moisture through the winter months,
but light, flashy fuels such as grass remain extremely flammable. He
encouraged anyone working with battery-operated or potentially
flammable devices to have a fire extinguisher within reach — just in
case.

"Please make sure that your fire is safe," he said.

Additional details about the type of drone were not immediately
available.

WILDFI Kendrick Fire?? 50+ acres - near Kendrick Park by Forest
Roads 514 & 524 intersection??moving east towards U.S. Hwy
180/Chapel??Joint operations with Summit Fire 30 firefighters in the
area, BE CAREFUL in SMOKE
@Arizona_DPS@ArizonaDOT@CoconinoSheriff@CityofFlag staffpic.twitter.com/3c5ud