More Burnaby residents who live in tall towers are sharing stories of seeing drones really close to their windows.
And it’s pretty disturbing stuff.
Living up high should bring a lot of privacy with it, but drones are making life uncomfortable for some.
“I was freaking out when I saw it,” said Sonia, who lives on the north side of Kingsway in Metrotown. “I’m working from home and looked out my window from my home office and it was just hovering there. I don’t know if it had a camera pointed toward my window but it should be flying so close to residential buildings. I wanted to throw something at it, but that might just hit someone on the ground. It’s a pretty helpless feeling.”
This follows a complaint from Terry, who contacted the NOW back in May about this issue.
She was upset after visiting her daughter, who lives on the 22nd floor of a highrise in the Brentwood neighbourhood. She was sitting there with her daughter watching TV when they noticed something flying outside the window.
“We both went out onto the balcony and saw a drone flying around,” Terry said. “It was moving slowly, as if spying inside the apartments, and hovered way above us before moving out of sight. My daughter also told me she saw what she thought was a bird or something another night, later when it was darker. Once we watched the drone for a while, she realized it probably was a drone she had seen. We watched for a while, hoping to see who the drone belonged to, but it flew way up and away. We saw security people below us but couldn't tell if they were the drone operators.”
Terry – who didn’t want her full name used to protect her daughter - is worried about “peeping Toms” looking to film people who think they have privacy in their bedrooms.
“I think the thousands of people who live in the Brentwood area would be surprised to learn someone is spying on them,” she said.
There are restrictions on where people can fly drones, but unless someone is out enforcing those, it feels like it’s the Wild West.
People deserve their privacy.
Drones are also causing problems for the BC Wildfire Service, as crews work to fight wildfires threatening homes across the Interior.
Fire information officer Noelle Kekula said air support crews are being hindered on some wildfires by unauthorized drones flying in the area.
“We are getting reports of drones back on our fires that are impeding air operations,” Kekula said.
If you own a drone and are interested in the fires, don’t be. … Please do not be using any of this equipment in and around our fires.”
On June 19, the BC Wildfire Service was forced to temporarily halt air support on the George Road fire near Lytton due to a drone flying in the area.
At the time, officials said anyone operating a drone found to be interfering with wildfire operations could be fined up to $100,000 or jailed up to one year.
Drone operators need to get their act together.
- With files from the Canadian Press
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
