“Eyes in the Sky” Aerial Fire-Spotting Helps Firefighters Find Trouble Fast

This is the latest installment in our ongoing podcast and article series, a collaboration between the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council and journalist Sarah Reith. You can listen to the full episode by clicking the play button below, or read a condensed version of the story just beneath it.

The holiday weekend started early in Mendocino County this year, with an outbreak of grass fires on July 1 in the northern wilderness. Lightning strikes led to the Leach fire and the Kneecap fire in the Mendocino National Forest near Covelo, and the Cummings fire south of Leggett. The small Feliz fire in Hopland, which started from an unknown cause, also broke out on private land on July 1. Though the first two fires were on federal land, a fire-spotting airplane funded by private landowners in Mendocino County was patrolling the county on July 1-2 for fire starts. 

The Co-op's contract pilot, Mike Smith, in the Cessna 172

The Mendocino County Cooperative Aerial Fire Patrol (Co-op) hires pilot Mike Smith every summer to fly over the region in his Cessna 172 during the hottest part of the day, scouring the skies for signs of smoke. Last year, the Co-op recorded seven “first reports” of fire. Since its founding in 1950, it has documented 1,100 early fire detections. Smith works closely with Cal Fire, calling in detailed reports about the fires he finds, guiding firefighters to the site, and only leaving the scene once he’s no longer needed.

Chris Rowney, a retired Cal Fire chief who is now a director on the seven-member Co-op board, explained that the pilot is able to convey information directly to Cal Fire’s Emergency Command Center. “Since he’s there, he actually has latitude and longitude. He can give a precise location. It’s a little better reporting than if it was someone from the general public who doesn’t have access to that kind of information,” such as access routes along logging roads in heavily forested areas. “It works very well with all the Cal Fire systems for mitigation,” he concluded. The pilot is also able to tell firefighters what kind of fuel is burning, how fast the fire is spreading, and if any buildings or other infrastructure are in danger.

Randall Vann, another Co-op director and a retired CAL FIRE dozer operator, recalled an instance years ago where he was glad to have a guide in the sky. “We had a lightning bust come through, north of Covelo,” where a maze of logging roads makes it easy to get lost in the woods. “We could see the smoke when we left the station, and Co-op said, you’re headed in the wrong direction - you need to go up Mina Road and in through Hulls Valley.” The navigation saved the firefighters about 45 minutes, and Vann remembers that their earlier arrival allowed them to contain the fire to only five acres.

Vann added that aerial fire patrol is especially useful now that staffed lookouts are so rare. The U.S. Forest Service has one intermittently staffed lookout on Anthony Peak in Covelo, but the combination of staffing costs, fire-spotting cameras, and members of the public who are always ready with their cell phones have made professional Cal Fire lookouts a thing of the past. However, even though cell phones have increased the public’s effectiveness at calling in emergencies, many parts of Mendocino County don’t have reliable reception. 

The Co-op is funded solely by donations, mostly from timber companies and landowners with more than ten acres. But “everyone reaps the value from this early detection,” according to Norm Brown, chair of the Co-op board and a retired CAL FIRE Deputy Chief and air attack supervisor. Pilots fly four to six hours a day during the heat of the summer, when fire danger is highest. “Instead of having a stationary lookout on a mountaintop, now we have one that’s mobile, that flies the county, looking for new starts,” Brown said. 

Out of an abundance of caution over the July 4 holiday weekend, Smith flew over Mendocino County again on July 4, 5, and 6. Fireworks are illegal in Mendocino County, but locals can attest that there are always a few people who can’t resist setting off a few. However, Brown said that, due to financial shortfalls, the Co-op is not planning to patrol for the rest of the month. Pilot Mike Smith will be grounded. “We’re going to shut him down for a couple weeks,” likely until August, he estimated. “If we get some extreme fire conditions, high temperatures, high winds, more lightning, things like that, then we’ll put him back in the air.” 

Brown says that 90% of wildland fires are caused by humans, either accidentally or purposely. He reported that no larger fires were caused by fireworks after the July 4 weekend, but fire danger is still high from activities like cutting grass with bladed mowers during the heat of the day. His advice will sound familiar to anyone who is familiar with the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council’s messages: maintain defensible space, and get the mowing done in the cool of the morning.

Timing is crucial, including when it comes to booking a pilot for flight hours. “The reason that we have to shut him down for part of this fire season,” Vann added, “is that our bank account’s pretty low. We’re having to cut corners” or cut down on early-season flying days, to save money for the hot, dry months from August through October. 

The aerial fire-spotting service costs about $35,000 a month, between paying the pilot and fueling the plane. “I don’t think we’re getting the contributors we used to, and the cost of fuel and maintenance is going up,” Vann reflected. “It’s tough. It’s tough for everybody right now, I’m sure.”

But Rowney thinks it’s worth the money. “In the larger scheme of things, this investment is pretty small when you consider the cost of fighting a fire when it reaches several thousand acres in size,” he calculated. 

For more information about the Mendocino County Cooperative Aerial Fire Patrol, contact Norm Brown at (707) 489-9727. To make a donation, mail your check to Co-op Aerial Fire Patrol, PO Box 2036, Ukiah, CA 95482.