This article was submitted by the Mendocino Fire Safe Council. It has been edited for length by the Mendocino Voice.
MENDOCINO CO., 7/10/25 – The Fourth of July weekend is a mixed bag to many: fun in the sun, BBQ, fireworks — and fire danger. On this holiday weekend in Mendocino County, the weekend started early with an outbreak of grass fires July 1 in the northern wilderness.
Lightning strikes led to the Leach fire and the Kneecap fire in the Mendocino National Forest near Covelo, as well as the Cummings fire south of Leggett. The small Feliz fire in Hopland, which started from an unknown cause, also broke out on private land that same Tuesday. 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, looking for fire starts.
The Mendocino County Cooperative Aerial Fire Patrol (Co-op) hires pilot Mike Smith every summer to fly over the far-flung county 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, the patrol 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 Smith 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,” Rowney said, explaining that when fire alert calls come in from the general public, callers rarely have that kind of information.
From the air, Smith can see the best routes for responders, often along logging roads in heavily forested areas. 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 bulldozer operator, recalled an instance years ago when he was glad to have a guide in the sky. “We had a lightning burst come through, north of Covelo,” he recalled. A maze of logging roads made it easy to get lost, even though they could see smoke. “We could see the smoke when we left the station,” Vann said, “and the pilot said, `You’re headed in the wrong direction.’” Vann said the correct navigation saved the firefighters about 45 minutes. Their earlier arrival allowed the firefighters 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 maintains one intermittently staffed lookout on Anthony Peak in Covelo, but the combination of staffing costs, fire-spotting cameras, and members of the public always ready with their cell phones have made professional 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.
Who pays for the “eye in the sky”?
The aerial 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,” said 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 holiday weekend, Smith flew over Mendocino County on July 4, 5, and 6. Fireworks are illegal in the county, but there are always a few people who can’t resist setting off a few. However, Brown said that, due to financial shortfalls, Smith won’t be patrolling for the rest of the month. “We’re going to shut him down for a couple weeks,” Brown said, likely until August. “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 people, either by accident or on purpose. While thankfully no large fires were caused by fireworks, fire danger is still high from activities like cutting grass with bladed mowers during the heat of the day. His advice will ring true to anyone familiar with the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council’s messages: maintain defensible space and get the mowing done in the cool of the morning.
“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.” He said they are having 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 Smith 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.”
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.”
For 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.