Riverside County deputies arrest man who flew drone over Bain Fire burn zone
A man was arrested for allegedly flying a drone over the Bain Fire burn zone in Jurupa Valley on Tuesday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office.
The 33-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday at around 3:10 p.m. after a Cal Fire official advised that a drone was sighted near Kennedy Street and 65th Street, which led to the temporary stop of all emergency air units, including water-dropping aircraft that were working to mitigate the Bain Fire, RSO officials told CBS LA.
"The drone operator was located in the 9200 block of Kennedy Street and taken into custody for interfering with emergency responders during an emergency," deputies said.
The man was later identified as Jurupa Valley resident Edgar Salazar.
The Bain Fire started on Tuesday morning near Limonite Avenue and Bain Street. It quickly grew to engulf nearly 1,500 acres of vegetation and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents in the surrounding area. As of Friday night, it was said to be 81% contained.
Last January, a man was similarly arrested for flying a drone over the Palisades Fire, where it collided with a Cal Fire firefighting aircraft. He eventually agreed to plead guilty to federal charges for the incident.
