High Sierra Topix

Moving this and the other related topic to the Campfire.

RichardCullip wrote:... Now this part of the Kern Canyon is famous, or maybe to some, infamous, for loud low flying military aircraft. Each day of my trip there were multiple high speed, low (and I do mean low) and loud (and I do mean loud) flybys by military jets...

A designated military training route goes up the canyon. Locals know when military action somewhere in the world is imminent when the traffic increases on the MTRs.

A couple MTRs are near me. I can always tell when the Pentagon is getting ready for action even before the press release or president's speech announcing it. It was fun watching the F-111s before Desert Storm flying low across the desert east of Susanville. Low??? They were raising rooster tails of dirt!

There was a near miss on a fire earlier this summer when a drone wandered into the airspace over a fire. An air tanker almost hit one.

CalFire was not amused...

Went on a great 6+ mile training hike this past weekend down here in SoCal - Sandstone Peak out in Malibu area. It is on NPS managed lands since it is part of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The hike was good way to get my legs moving again after sidelined from training due to injury. And my 18 month old on my back loved it. He was uber-happy all the time.

Any rate - get to the peak of Sandstone. I expected some crowds since 2 ways to get to the peak and its the coveted destination. That was fine. What was not fine were the 3 college kids and their $2K drone. Here were are sitting and enjoying our peaceful lunch. I don't mind the other folks chattering away and being happy to have made it to the peak. But then these guys came along, pulled out their drone, and launched it. Immediately, it attracted amazing butterflies to its wake and right away the blades cut them down. Their response "Hey, it only cut its wings, but they are alive. Its cool, its still alive!" Right - cause a butterfly w/out a wing is really living. And then for 30 minutes, we had to endure their ridiculous chatter about a $2K drone in addition to the incessant buzzing sound - saying nothing of me fearing it would come crashing on my little guy's head as we sat just 20 feet away from them. I might have been hoping their drone had crashed and burned...

Any rate - my little guy loved the hike although at 18 months, he kinda puts a dent in the "pack in pack out" mantra.

"Friday, May 6th, 2016
tedgaines

Senator Ted Gaines announced Thursday that his Senate Bill 807, which he says will protect forests, property and the lives of citizens, firefighters and emergency personnel from drone interference, passed out of the Senate and is now headed to the Assembly.

“To think that someone would interfere with firefighting or emergency response situations to get a sneak peek or to post a drone video on YouTube is an outrage that is deserving of punishment and condemnation,” said Senator Gaines. “I’m pleased that my colleagues agreed, and I look forward to Senate Bill 807’s continued support as it makes its way through the Assembly.”

Senate Bill 807 will grant civil immunity to any emergency responder who damages an unmanned aircraft in the course of firefighting, air ambulance, or search-and-rescue operations. The bill stems from alarming reports of private, unauthorized drones causing mission-critical aircraft to be grounded during firefighting and medical response operations, putting pilots, firefighters, civilians and property at unnecessary risk.

Senator Gaines believes drones hold great promise for wildfire suppression and other emergency services when used properly by the appropriate agencies, but does not want rogue drones to interfere with the most effective response to time-sensitive crises.

“As we head into California’s dangerous wildfire season, I want everyone to know that interfering with firefighting or other emergency activities is reckless and wrong. Let’s get the word out as far and wide as we can – immediately – to help keep our people and emergency personnel safe,” said Senator Gaines. “But this bill will help ensure our skies are protected. People can replace drones, but we can’t replace a life. Public safety should be our absolute number one priority.”

Senator Ted Gaines represents the 1st Senate District, which along with Lassen County includes all or parts of Alpine, El Dorado, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties."