BC Wildfire Service says civilian drone hit firefighting plane

KAMLOOPS — The BC Wildfire Service says police are investigating after one of its firefighting aircraft was struck by a civilian drone that was being illegally flown in restricted airspace.

It says the incident on Tuesday evening involved a bird dog plane that directs airtankers and other aircraft, and occurred during operations against a blaze in the Cariboo Fire Centre.

Fire information officer Amanda Graves says the strike caused minor damage to one of the wings of the bird dog, which was repaired and back in service the next morning.

She says no one was hurt and RCMP are investigating.

The service says on social media that such interference with its aerial operations “poses significant risk” and anyone found flying drones in restricted areas faces penalties of up to $100,000 and up to one year in jail.

It says unauthorized drones, including the smallest models weighing less than 250 grams, are banned within five nautical miles, or 9.3 kilometres, and 3,000 feet above active wildfires.

About 150 fires are burning across B.C., including about 35 in the Cariboo Fire Centre in the province’s central Interior.

Farther south, about 84 properties along the Coquihalla Highway are on alert and one other has been ordered to evacuate due to an intense wildfire that saw drivers go through showers of embers before the highway was shut down.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says the evacuation order and alerts are due to the Mine Creek fire, which has reached 19 square kilometres in size and is burning near the highway between Hope and Merritt.

The Coquihalla Highway was closed Wednesday in the stretch near the fire and remains shuttered between Hope and Merritt, with motorists advised to take highways 1 and 3 as alternatives.

Video shared on social media on Wednesday shows vehicles passing large trees engulfed in flames on both sides of the highway, before it was closed in the afternoon.

DriveBC, the province’s traffic information service, said on social media that the closure call was made at 3:51 p.m. Wednesday.

The Transport Ministry said it had been monitoring the fire in co-ordination with the wildfire service.

“The highway was closed as soon as visibility was impacted, based on fire conditions and in collaboration with BCWS,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

The wildfire service says the Mine Creek fire was displaying an intensity level of Rank 5 on a scale of six on Wednesday, indicating extremely vigorous surface fire activity or having an active crown fire.

However, the service says the level has since dropped to Rank 2 and 3 with a moderately vigorous surface blaze, although the fire’s behaviour is expected to increase later in the day as temperatures rise.

“Yesterday, Sept. 3, record high temperatures and winds beyond those forecasted resulted in Rank 5 fire behaviour on this incident,” an update says.

“Accessing this fire has been challenging due to the terrain and multiple bridge washouts from previous flooding,” the update adds. “Priorities are securing Highway 5 (Coquihalla) and the protection of infrastructure in the area.”

B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar warned on Wednesday that the province is expecting a rise in wildfire activity due to lightning in the forecast and recent high temperatures.

Metro Vancouver continues to be covered in haze from wildfires with an air quality warning in place for the Lower Mainland and Parmar said the situation could worsen in the next few days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2025.

The Canadian Press