Two Unauthorized Planes Circling Foot Creek Fire Near Buffalo Grounded Firefighting Operations for Over an Hour Each
Why It MattersThe episodes show how thin airspace protection can be around wildfires before a TFR is issued, when only an advisory NOTAM applies and untracked aircraft are nearly impossible to identify.
Two incidents of unauthorized, low-flying privately owned planes over the Foot Creek Fire near Buffalo, Wyoming, disrupted firefighting operations over the weekend, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said. Sara Evans Kirol, public-affairs specialist for the Bighorn National Forest, said firefighting aircraft were grounded a little over an hour for each instance. Both planes made several passes over the area, and crews could not obtain a tail number on either one, which she said makes them nearly impossible to identify. The Forest Service is not conducting investigations. Evans Kirol said a collision with a low-flying plane could cause a fatal crash affecting the pilot, any passengers and people or homes on the ground.
The first plane passed over the fire Saturday. The FAA subsequently issued a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR), and a second plane passed over the fire Sunday. Johnson County Airport manager Brian Granger said that when the first plane flew over on Saturday, only a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) was in place, which advises caution but does not bar flights. He noted the TFR extends only to 9,500 feet, and a plane above that height can still appear to be flying low. He said it was his own read and not an official determination that the pilots may not have broken any rules, and described the repeated passes as consistent with 'looky loo' flying. The Forest Service has had drones in the air since the weekend, continuing Monday, to map and photograph the burn area.
The Foot Creek Fire was reported midday Thursday about 12 miles west of Buffalo in Johnson County and was estimated at 100 acres that afternoon. By Friday it had grown to 413 acres with no containment. By Monday it had reached 683 acres; containment was 36% Monday morning and 66% by afternoon, with about 65 personnel assigned. Residents of a seven-home subdivision in the fire's path were briefly evacuated Thursday and have since been allowed to return. Resident Greg Walker said the fire burned up to his house.
