An investigation is launched after waterbombing aircraft were grounded due to drones.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said those who flew drones near fires put lives at risk.
"A little drone could cause catastrophic situations with small aircraft, particularly with helicopters," he said. "You could bring a helicopter down if a drone hit the rotor blades, particularly the tail rotor blades." He reminded drone operators it was against the law to fly a drone in the vicinity of an emergency situation."Each situation is different, it could be 1 kilometre from the fire or 20 kilometres from the fire [that is considered too close], depending on the size of the fire."Last year, about 60 fines were issued for drone offences, including a few fire-related fines.
"The fines can be more than $10,000 and if you put lives at risk with your drone, you could end up before the courts and that could result in a jail term of up to five years," Mr Gibson said., which provides information on where drones can be used.
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