Officials urge people to stop flying drones around Buckley Draw Fire following multiple ground stoppages
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- The Buckley Draw Fire is pictured Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in Provo.
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- The Federal Aviation Administration’s temporary flight restriction map for the Buckley Draw Fire is shown.
Emergency officials are urging people not to fly drones within the vicinity of the Buckley Draw Fire in Provo after four separate drone incursions resulted in the temporary grounding of aircraft.
Northern Utah Type 3 Incident Management Team spokesperson Sierra Hellstrom said drones entered the airspace twice Sunday after the fire broke out and twice Monday afternoon, briefly halting all airborne activity to combat the flames.
Utah County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Raymond Ormond said drones in firefighting airspace can be a serious hazard, and in the past, there have been collisions between drones and firefighting aircraft.
“Anytime that there’s a drone that is spotted in the area of the fire, they have to, by the Forest Service policy and standards, ground the aircraft until they can make sure that the drone is out of the air,” Ormond said.
Aircraft groundings are also a potential hazard for firefighters combating the fire on foot because they are reliant on air assets to aid them with firefighting efforts and offer protection.
“Just like a soldier in a battlefield, they’ll call in for air support to be able to drop the fire retardant or water or whatever they need in specific areas to keep the fire from turning on them,” Ormond said.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a temporary flight restriction for an area around the Buckley Fire. In Utah Valley, the restriction stretches as far north as Timpview High School in Provo, as far west as Center Street and 500 West in Provo and as far south as Mapleton.
The Buckley Draw Fire broke out on the mountainside south of Slate Canyon in Provo around 5 p.m. Sunday and continued to burn into Monday.
By Monday afternoon, the fire covered an estimated 400 acres with 0% containment, according to Hellstrom, who said the wildfire is currently not threatening homes but will continue burning in the coming days.
