A specialized Canadian firefighting plane responding to the wildfires in Southern California was grounded Thursday after it struck an unidentified drone, officials said.
The CL-415 "Super Scooper" is designed specifically to perform water drops on fires. It is an amphibious aircraft that skims across the surface of large bodies of water to scoop up more than 1,600 gallons of water in a single filling run.
On Thursday, one of the two Super Scooper planes assigned to the California fires collided with a drone while performing its duties, officials said. The collision left the plane with a visible hole in one of its wings.
Today, January 9, 2025, at approximately 1:00 p.m., while flying in the #PalisadesFire area, #SuperScooper Quebec 1 was struck by a civilian drone that was not assigned to the Palisades fire.
— Erik Scott (@PIOErikScott) January 10, 2025
Quebec 1 sustained wing damage and remains grounded and out of service. There were no…
Details about the type of drone the plane hit or its fate were not available.
The plane is expected to be repaired and flying again by Monday.
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But the incident forced the temporary grounding of all firefighting aircraft, officials said. They cannot fly unless the airspace is confirmed to be clear of other aircraft.
If you are found to be flying drones in that airspace, "You will be arrested, you will be prosecuted, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman at a press conference on Friday.
An unauthorized flight is a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison or a fine of up to $75,000.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident. Officials also said Friday federal agencies would be able to track unauthorized drone flights.
"Our federal partners behind the scenes are going to be implementing procedures to be able to follow drones in our two large fire areas, and they will be able to identify who the operator of that drone is," said L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
