In the United States, a Canadian firefighting plane collided with an amateur drone over Los Angeles.

This is stated in the report of the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States, according to the Los Angeles Times.

An amateur drone crashed into a Canadian Super Scooper firefighting plane.

At that time, the plane was extinguishing a fire in one of the most affected areas of the city’s Pacific Palisades.

Police launched an investigation and search for the drone operator who violated the ban on flying in the fire zone.

“This afternoon we hit a drone for the first time. Our Super Scooper damaged a small drone. It punched a hole in the wing,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told reporters.

He did not specify whether the drone operator had been identified, but added that the drone had been destroyed.

In turn, the Super Scooper aircraft, which is capable of dropping large volumes of water, suffered a “fist-sized hole” and needed to be repaired.

The aircraft is expected to return to service on Monday, January 13.

“This Super Scooper will be repaired on a priority basis 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said the Los Angeles Fire Chief.

Marrone also said that after the incident, the FBI plans to provide the fire area with so-called “aerial armor” to ensure that the airspace is closed to the fans of spectacular shots.

In a statement released on Thursday, January 9, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that drone flights in the Los Angeles fire zone were temporarily restricted so as not to interfere with the work of rescuers.

“Interfering with firefighting on public lands is a federal crime punishable by up to 12 months in prison. In addition, the FAA may impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 on any UAV pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement, or emergency response operations during the temporary flight restriction,” the FAA wrote in a statement.

As of Thursday, the restrictions on drone flights in the Los Angeles area were extended until January 23.

As a reminder, five major wildfires are burning in Los Angeles County (California, USA), killing at least 10 people. About 10 thousand buildings have been burned to the ground.

In 2021, Canada involved its military in fighting wildfires in the province of British Columbia.