1 critical, 2 others hurt after Friday house fire in Sibley — fireworks might be linked to incident
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Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
Texas flood recovery efforts face an unexpected obstacle: drones
The flash floods that have devastated Texas are already a difficult crisis to manage. More than 100 people are confirmed dead after the July 4 deluge, and many more remain missing. But while recovery efforts are underway, Texas authorities are grappling with a compounding challenge: civilian drone operators interfering with emergency response. Amateur pilots are either trying to capture dramatic footage of the disaster or, in some cases, attempting to locate missing or stranded people themselves. That's not just unhelpful—it's dangerous. 'We know that people want to volunteer, but what we are starting to see is personal drones flying,' Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice said at a recent press conference. Rice discouraged these have-a-go heroes with drones. 'These personal drones flying is a danger to aircraft, which then risks further operations,' he added. What might seem like good intentions from above is, in practice, making things worse on the ground. 'Particularly with emergency response, people think that they're doing good, when, in reality, they're causing more harm than good,' says Ryan Wallace, a professor and drone expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. This isn't a new problem. In January 2025, a drone collided with one of two Super Scooper amphibious aircraft fighting the Los Angeles wildfires. The collision forced the aircraft to land and be decommissioned, instantly halving the region's firefighting capacity. 'It's a sad reality that people have been flying drones over disaster zones without permission ever since the technology came into widespread use over a decade ago,' says Arthur Holland Michel, a drone expert and author of Eyes in the Sky. The growing availability of consumer drones over the past decade has worsened the issue. 'As drones became less expensive in the 2010s, more people had them for unregulated recreational use or professional photography,' explains Robin Murphy, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University. She recalls how, during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, officials had to call the sheriff to stop a civilian trying to film flood footage to sell to the news, just so official drone teams could gather time-sensitive emergency data. Between 2015 and 2025, there have been 190 recorded instances of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) incursions, conflicts, or airspace intrusions that interfered with wildfire and U.S. Forest Service operations, according to Wallace. Despite repeated education campaigns, the message isn't sinking in. 'Aviation authorities have tried again and again to educate drone users about the very real risks of interfering with rescue efforts and disaster relief, but it just doesn't seem to get through to some people,' Wallace says. While technical and legal options exist to disable unauthorized drones, the burden often falls on responders, who should be focused on saving lives and not policing airspace. The comparison, Murphy notes, is stark: 'It's like a civilian walking up to a SWAT team commander during an active shooter event and offering to help cover off an angle because they have a gun permit. There are so many problems with this,' she says. 'The person doesn't have radios, doesn't know the parlance, isn't trained in SWAT, there are procedures for joining an agency, the agency would be liable for this person's actions, and so on. Same thing with self-deploying drones.' Low-flying civilian drones also pose a collision risk to helicopters operating just above the ground to aid trapped residents. In crowded and chaotic airspace, the presence of rogue drones can quite literally turn deadly. Even when drone pilots aren't disrupting emergency aircraft, their contributions often can't be used. 'The emergency managers usually can't use the data because it is not verified,' says Murphy. 'For example, agencies can't accept a report from a person claiming to be a civil engineer they have never met and without credentials who says a building is about to collapse; the agencies have a process for obtaining data according to accountability standards.' The file formats from commercial drones also don't always align with agency tools. One colleague, Murphy recalls, spent 40 hours converting well-meaning footage from a civilian into a usable format after a fire. 'What is disturbing to me personally is the lack of enforcement or consequences,' she adds. 'The agencies are in a no-win situation and can't do it; if they come down hard on self-deployed teams—assuming they had time during a response.' As for why early warnings didn't prevent more loss of life during the Texas floods, some observers point to recent staffing cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which may have led to the early retirement of a key local meteorologist. The forecasting question may take time to answer, but the drone problem is already making itself known.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
1 critical, 2 others hurt after Friday house fire in Sibley — fireworks might be linked to incident
One person was rushed to a hospital via air ambulance in critical condition, and two others were hurt after a Friday afternoon house fire in Jackson County. An official with the Fort Osage Fire Protection District said the incident happened at a home in the 30000 block of West Hunter Road in Sibley around 4:30 p.m. Friday. When firefighters arrived, they found a two-story home engulfed in flames with three burn victims in need of help.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
A ‘Cain and Abel' crime: Kansas City man charged in connection with brother's murder
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office has charged a Kansas City man with murder after investigators said he shot and killed his brother over the weekend in Sugar Creek, Missouri. According to prosecutors, Jacob L. Ackerman is facing one count of second-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action after the Saturday shooting. Ackerman has previously been convicted of multiple other crimes, including possession of a controlled substance, burglary, and multiple domestic assault charges. Hunt family mourning loss of 9-year-old cousin in Texas floods At about 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, court documents say officers with the Sugar Creek Police Department were called to the area of 291 Highway and 210 Highway for a welfare check. The person who called law enforcement was a family member of the victim. They told police that they tracked the victim through the 'Life 360' app and saw that he had not moved in about seven hours. The relative then gave law enforcement the location of the victim's phone through the app, leading them to a nearby pond. According to court records, when Sugar Creek officers arrived, they reported seeing a man lying on his back with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. At the scene, police described there being several miscellaneous items around the victim, including shoes, an alcoholic beverage, an electronic vaping cigarette, clothing items and a pocket knife – all of which was collected as evidence. Hours later, at about 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, relatives of the victim contacted officers and said they believed the shooting was a 'Cain and Abel' situation, claiming that Ackerman, the victim's brother, was responsible for his death. Later, relatives contacted police again, reporting that the victim's car, a Mercedes CL2, was in the driveway of Ackerman's home and that he had left and driven to a McDonald's in Kansas City. Kansas City police were called to the fast food chain on reports of a 'disturbance' and asked Ackerman to get out of his car. Ackerman cooperated with law enforcement and exited his van, placing his hands on the back of his head without being asked. While being detained, court documents say the victim's family asked Ackerman why he killed the victim. Police said he simply looked at the family member with a 'blank stare on his face.' Inmate's death at Wyandotte County jail under investigation: KBI After Ackerman was taken into custody, relatives told law enforcement that the suspect's mental health had been declining for a while and that he had been jealous of the victim for most of his life. They also showed police a 'selfie' that the victim had taken in the same spot where he was killed. Court records say Ackerman and a dog were seen in the photo. The relative also told police that they had allowed Ackerman to use their debit card, and after going through bank records, investigators say he had used the card at a Quickway gas station near the area where the victim's body was found. Additionally, surveillance footage from the gas station showed Ackerman and the victim riding in the same car. Court documents say that while being questioned, Ackerman denied an attorney and told police he did not know where his brother was. When told that the situation looked bad, police said Ackerman responded with, 'If it looks bad, then it's bad.' Law enforcement eventually obtained warrants to search his vehicles and his property. Court records say police found the same clothing Ackerman had been wearing in the 'selfie' during the search. While his home was being searched, detectives with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office began interviewing Ackerman. During this interview, court records say he admitted to shooting the victim in the head. Explosion in crowd at Oak Grove fireworks show; City looking for victims Court documents say Ackerman told police he shot the victim because they had gotten into an argument over a girl. When asked about the weapon, Ackerman claimed not to know where he had put the gun he used. However, he later gave officers a handwritten note, admitting that he had hidden the gun in the attic crawl space under the insulation, court records say. At this time, Ackerman is being held in a Jackson County Jail on a $300,000 cash-only bond. His first court appearance was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Monday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
