New Drone TFRs: Valkyries Parade in San Francisco, NASCAR Championship Weekend at Homestead and a New Hampshire Wildfire

The FAA posted a fresh batch of drone-relevant temporary flight restrictions on Tuesday, and two of them land in places where plenty of pilots will be tempted to put a camera in the air: a championship parade in San Francisco today and NASCAR’s championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday through Sunday. We also found a wildfire TFR in New Hampshire, a gas-venting closure in the Florida Panhandle and a flood-response TFR here in Colorado that is active through Saturday. We checked tfr.faa.gov at about 5:20 a.m. Mountain time on Wednesday, November 4.

Today: Valkyries championship parade, San Francisco (NOTAM 6/4983)

The Golden State Valkyries are celebrating their 2026 WNBA title with a parade along The Embarcadero from noon to 2 p.m. today, starting at the Ferry Building and finishing at Second and King streets near Oracle Park, according to the team and the City of San Francisco. The FAA has covered it with a drone-only security TFR: a 1 nautical mile circle from the surface to 400 feet AGL, active from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PST.

This is national defense airspace under 14 CFR 99.7. The only drones allowed inside are those flying for public safety or emergency missions, operators supporting the event itself, and commercial operators with a valid statement of work. Even those flights need an approved Special Governmental Interest (SGI) waiver.

Friday through Sunday: NASCAR Championship weekend, Homestead (6/4950, 6/5022, 6/5087)

Three separate NOTAMs titled for the NASCAR Championship at Homestead put a 1 NM, surface-to-400-feet AGL drone-only zone over the Homestead-Miami Speedway area each day. Each day has two active windows, all Eastern time:

• Friday, Nov. 6 (6/4950): 11 a.m. to 6:29 p.m., then 10:09 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 7 (6/5022): 11 a.m. to 3:59 p.m., then 8:45 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 8 (6/5087): 11 a.m. to 1:59 p.m., then 7:29 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.

The same 99.7 rules and SGI waiver requirements apply. Part 107 rules for flying over people still apply.

Through Nov. 11: Wild River Fire, near Gorham, New Hampshire (6/5156)

A firefighting TFR now covers a 5 NM radius about 10 NM southeast of Berlin, from the surface to 5,000 feet MSL, until 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, November 11. The U.S. Forest Service says the Wild River Fire, first reported Sunday afternoon in the White Mountain National Forest about seven miles southeast of Gorham, had burned roughly 378 acres and was about 11% contained as of Tuesday. A helicopter and an agency drone are supporting the crews, and the Forest Service is explicitly warning the public not to fly drones near the fire. A drone sighting can ground firefighting aircraft.

Through Saturday: flood response near Pagosa Springs, Colorado (6/4198)

Closer to home for us, a disaster-relief TFR covers a large polygon around Pagosa Springs from the surface to 1,000 feet AGL, active daily from 7 a.m. to 4:59 p.m. MST through Saturday, November 7. The NOTAM lists the Archuleta County flood response, coordinated by Colorado public safety officials, as the agency in charge.

Monday, Nov. 9: gas venting near Fountain, Florida (6/5052)

A short hazard TFR under 14 CFR 91.137(a)(1) closes a 1 NM circle about 5 NM northeast of Fountain in the Florida Panhandle, surface to 2,000 feet MSL, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST on Monday for a Florida Gas Transmission venting operation.

Still on the board this week

The items we flagged earlier this week remain active: the Naval Station Mayport security zone through Saturday; the Santa Rosa Island defense airspace (Nov. 3-6 and Nov. 8-9); air show TFRs at Pensacola, Titusville, Punta Gorda, San Marcos, Texas, Somerset, Kentucky, and Safford, Arizona; and drone-only stadium and event zones in Orlando, Tampa and Raleigh. No VIP TFRs were posted when we checked, but they can appear on short notice.

What this means for drone pilots

TFRs change daily, and short-notice security zones over parades and races catch pilots most often. Before every flight, check the FAA’s TFR list or a B4UFLY-approved app, and read the actual NOTAM for times and altitudes instead of relying on a map pin. Drone-only 99.7 TFRs carry potential criminal penalties.

If you want to fly events for clients, you need a Part 107 certificate first, and then the know-how to request SGI waivers and airspace approvals. Drone U’s Part 107 test prep course covers airspace, NOTAMs and TFRs, and students have been known to complete it in three days and pass the test.

Sources: FAA NOTAM 6/4983; FAA NOTAM 6/4950; FAA NOTAM 6/5022; FAA NOTAM 6/5087; FAA NOTAM 6/5156; FAA NOTAM 6/4198; FAA NOTAM 6/5052; FAA TFR list; Golden State Valkyries; SF.gov; U.S. Forest Service, White Mountain National Forest

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