This bill aims to understand how drones affect wildfire suppression efforts and suggests ways to prevent these issues. It is important for improving safety and efficiency in fighting wildfires.
Wildfire Aerial Response Safety Act This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to study the effects of unmanned aircraft system (i. e., drone) incursions on wildfire suppression on public lands. Specifically, the FAA must study drone operations in any airspace for which the FAA issued a temporary flight restriction because of a wildfire on land managed by the Departments of Agriculture or the Interior. Among other things, the study must determine the number of occurrences over the last five years in which a drone incursion interfered with wildfire suppression and estimate the effects of each occurrence. The study must also evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of (1) deploying counter-drone systems to detect, mitigate, and prevent drone incursions during wildfire suppression operations; and (2) disseminating educational materials related to the effects of the incursions on wildfire suppression operations. The FAA must submit a report to Congress on the study's findings and any related recommendations.