Man Fined $5K for Drone Near Wildfire

0:00A man from Kelowna, British Columbia, has been hit with a $5,000 fine for flying a drone too close to an active wildfire last year. Derek Lippie lost the drone from his boat on Okanagan Lake right as the McDougal Creek fire raged in 2023, putting him near a firefighting helicopter. The chopper pilot explained how the drone pulled his attention away from the flames, making the job tougher during a critical time. Lippie argued he had no idea crews were out there battling the blaze, but the judge shot that down, saying anyone sensible would have noticed the evacuations and burning buildings nearby. In the end, Lippie was convicted in Kelowna Provincial Court back in February for breaking the Wildfire Act, which carries a max penalty of $100,000 or even a year behind bars, underscoring how seriously these rules protect emergency responders. This has been Vancouver News Today, powered by AI.