The lack of meaningful penalties and an almost non-existent campaign to raise public awareness means that hobby drones are still being flown around forest fires. See the news report from KCRA 3 in California about the latest incidents. As reported by KCRA, a California lawmaker is proposing jailtime for the perpetrators. I have a better idea: It should be a serious federal offense to fly a hobby drone within 5 miles of a forest fire without express permission from the authorities in charge. In some cases hobbyists can actually help local fire departments (see the report here for a great example) but obviously close coordination with authorities is needed in these situations. Since the governance of the national airspace is in federal hands (specifically, the FAA), it seems inefficient (to say the least) to require state and local governments to make laws against airspace abuses. Your thoughts?