Helicopters Above Mendocino County Today are Both Cannabis Enforcement Operations and PG&E Inspections

 

 

Talk of helicopters in the sky has been circulating Mendocino County social media since this morning. Residents have reported seeing them above Ukiah, Redwood Valley, Potter Valley, Brooktrails, and Willits. After reaching out to officials, it has been confirmed that the skies are busy with both cannabis enforcement operations and PG&E inspections.

 

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Captain Greg Van Patten confirmed that MCSO, in collaboration with the California National Guard is “gathering intelligence for marijuana enforcement.” 

 

 

Captain Van Patten told us MCSO is utilizing helicopters from both the National Guard and “some are contracted helicopter businesses.”

 

“So if people are growing unlawfully they should be concerned especially if these helicopters are overflying their neighborhood,” Captain Van Patten said.

 

PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras told us that, “due to the drought-intensified conditions including extremely dry fuel conditions and the receptivity of those fuels to ignite and spread quickly, even without major winds,” the company will be conducting patrols in high fire-threat areas starting this week.” 

[All pictures and videos provided by Raschelle Hoyt]

She said that “PG&E is flying helicopters along these lines in Potter Valley, Redwood Valley, and in the Ukiah area through Saturday. To help the public identify the helicopters, Contreras told us, “The flights are coming and going from the Ukiah airport and the tail numbers vary. I believe yesterday’s helicopter had a “tail number” of 174EM.” 

 

A reminder to readers: if you are ever curious about a craft in the air, go to FlightRadar24.com or download the app to get a real-time view of the skies of any geographic area.

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Knowledge
Guest
Knowledge
2 years ago

I had a client that got caught with a missile in the 90’s.

I truly hope the Belfast mentality does not become rampant again. The ease of access to incredible armament is knowledge well possessed by the HIDTA operators and the handlers.

North west
Guest
North west
2 years ago
Reply to  Knowledge

Someone shot a few holes in a parked chopper in willow creek years ago.
That stupid act brought more heat than anyone thought possible. It gave all of you southern Humboldters a nice brake for a few years.

F*ck the County
Guest
F*ck the County
2 years ago
Reply to  Knowledge

A Mendocino County Code enforcement Employee has been flying in these National Guard Blackhawks with other law enforcement.
Their new agenda is to shut down cannabis big or small. And by small I am referencing their 9 plant abatement.

Mendo
Guest
Mendo
2 years ago
Reply to  Knowledge

Why wouldnt Sheriff Kendall be transparent. It would seem he would want to inform the public which helicopters are his so people could distinguish from PGE contracted helicopters… or…
PERHAPS it is Sheriff Kendalls intention to terrorize our Mendocino County residents of who 40-50% work in the cannabis industry. Perhaps Sheriff Kendall is nothing but a terrorist to his neighbors and potential constituents if he is ever elected rather than selected. Its such a scumbag response from Sheriff Kendall, meant to terorize and instill fear. Shame on you Matt!

Brian (not the real)
Guest
Brian (not the real)
2 years ago

Same exact one flying north shore Lake County on the edges of National Forest /private land. Didn’t hang around too long. Besides fires I haven’t seen a low flying circling Blackhawk here in like 5 years. It was fairly low and easy to tell it was national Guard. Didn’t show up on radar either. Must be looking for some more 9 plant ‘patches’.

Jeffersonian
Guest
Jeffersonian
2 years ago

Wow, I had no idea our state finances are so strong right now that we can just throw money around on helicopters like this for something other than fire fighting. State tax payers are so generous, even in times of extreme hardship. What’s that you say? The McFarland fire is going to just burn, because we don’t have the resources to fight it? I guess it’s easy to be generous with funds when it’s other people’s money you’re spending. Must be awkward flying past the smoke and mayhem looking for some lousy plants..

Mendo
Guest
Mendo
2 years ago
Reply to  Jeffersonian

Or that Mendocino County is so well off and the Sheriff Department has so much money to waste terrorizing and instilling fear in our neighbors and families. Shameful!

clearlakefool
Guest
clearlakefool
2 years ago

with all the fires in areas i visit , i been watching flight tracker lots more lately .
seen lots of choppers in local lake county and all up the costal area to south of garberville and no call signs or anything else . some doing lots of circling .
with fire reports slow at any info , im always hoping its not another fire

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
2 years ago

Good to see the private and public sectors working together for a better tomorrow, lol.

bearjoo
Guest
bearjoo
2 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

corporate fascism soooo trendy under liberals… complete rebrand from last year…

Angela Robinson
Guest
Angela Robinson
2 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

I just saw your name. Glad to see you. Hope you are feeling better.

Brian (not the real)
Guest
Brian (not the real)
2 years ago

@clearlakefool I 100% promise you they weren’t looking for a fire. There has already been one little one on high valley rd above my property this year. I had my Bino’s out looking at em thinking the same as far as fires go. They circled a 10 greenhouse grow up there and another one a few miles to the south towards high valley ranch/Brassfield area. Been a while since I’ve seen that where I am and I can see quite a bit from my location. On radar there wasn’t a ‘no call sign’ there was nothing at all. I too have been watching radar quite a bit this year and have seen the same. First military bird flying low and slow I have seen this year. No water bucket no spotter plane no turbo tracker just looked like a recon flight to me.

Know Your Birds
Guest
Know Your Birds
2 years ago

The Blackhawks that haul water are classed as utility. Those are probably dedicated to firefighting. The one in the photos is some kind of Pavehawk, built for search and rescue. When needed, there are machine gun mounts in the windows. I’ts the search part that it does so well, with its myriad of ever evolving software, cameras, radar and sensors. Very good at catching hot spots on fires. Watch for conformal antennas of a medium size which could indicate ground penetrating radar.

Martin
Guest
Martin
2 years ago

People just doing their job, and the whole area where they are flying goes crazy. I wonder why, there illegal pot growers. You can run but you can’t hide, and sooner or later the law will come knocking. Sleep well.

California Condor
Guest
California Condor
2 years ago
Reply to  Martin

Soooo Martin is going to bed early tonight!!! He wants to be the first one on the comment section tomorrow morning to scold all the 20 -35 plant grows they nab in Willits. And laugh. Sounds like a fulfilling life. I hope you are happy and healthy whilst others are not. Houses burning, families losing all their livelihoods. And you come to bash cannabis once again. Sleep well Martin. Remember, no one is scared to get their plants chopped. We will always just plant more every……single…….day…… month….. year. You are losing this fight and I implore you find something new and positive to do with your life. This is our plant and we believe in it. It’ll feed me if it’s worth 100 bucks a pound and it’ll feed me if it’s worth 2k a pound. So you gotta long road of bashing ahead of you.
Sleep well

Dave Sky
Guest
Dave Sky
2 years ago

Amen!

Get some
Guest
Get some
2 years ago

The amount of dollars/time well exceeds 100 per pound. What a bunch crap.

California Condor
Guest
California Condor
2 years ago
Reply to  Get some

Thanks for your math “get some.” I was lost without you. But of course, I think you are missing my point. It is tough to work around those prices. I’ve been here doing this through all the dips and raises in prices. When the price went down to 200-400 per pound a couple years ago , I stayed and fed my family. And when all the green rushers left because it wasn’t worth it, I’m still here, and all the originals are still here, still growing, and still giving people like you and Martin a life with these article comment sections. You want change, go outside. You aren’t changing anyone’s mind on Kymkemp.com. You aren’t changing minds of the same 15 people who have been commenting on here for years. There’s nothing and no one new here.

Prometheus
Guest
Prometheus
2 years ago

The OH-58 Kiowa’s fly under the 500 foot limit for PG&E one day and assist CAMP in busting you later…

downtown
Guest
downtown
2 years ago
Reply to  Prometheus

Supposedly PG&E contractor. Circling over downtown Redway of all places 8/3.

downtown
Guest
downtown
2 years ago
Reply to  downtown

.

Z
Guest
Z
2 years ago

The Blackhawk flew Brooktrails this morning at 9. lots of circling low over mom and pops back yard gardens being jerks. Imagine their flight talk today. “See Bod it’s hard to do anything about this we just don’t have the man power and resources” Are you ready to land for lunch now?

Z
Guest
Z
2 years ago

Blackhawk flew over small mom and pop gardens in Brooktrails at 9 this morning very low circling up to 4 times over 6-12 plant gardens. WHERE WE PAY FOR WATER. because that’s what they do act like power hungry jerks that were bullied for peeing there pants in the 7th grade. Go to Covelo and fly if you have the extra resources. Ohh that’s right… Too scary. Fucking jackasses

Ullr Rover
Guest
Ullr Rover
2 years ago

Blackhawks are pretty good water droppers for fires. Perhaps they could use resources elsewhere.

There has been zero air support on the west side of the Monument fire.

Brian (not the real)
Guest
Brian (not the real)
2 years ago
Reply to  Ullr Rover

Ullr couldn’t agree with you more. I guess it’s more important for Mendo county sheriff to run intimidation tactics instead. During the ranch river fire in lake county I watched national guard pilots in Blackhawks and chinooks dipping water out of Clearlake and let me tell you these guys were quick and not afraid to fly into dark even though they weren’t supposed to. To bad our elected officials have them tied up doing stupid stuff instead of what they sign up to do. They are badass to watch in action during emergencies. I hope you folks up there get some relief soon.

Ullr Rover
Guest
Ullr Rover
2 years ago

Thank you. Holding tight right now. The wind is backing the fire into itself here but it looks like it’s blowing up towards Big Flat.

These kind of operations are good training as well. Circling greenhouses, not so much.

Smoking
Guest
Smoking
2 years ago

So this is like Schrodinger’s cat. Until your busted, the chopper is either PG&E, or LEO.

Country Joe
Guest
Country Joe
2 years ago

It’s interesting how these OH-58 Kiowa helicopters can fly under the 500 foot limit when working for PG&E and work for cannabis enforcement operations the next day…Job protection.

Ullr Rover
Guest
Ullr Rover
2 years ago
Reply to  Country Joe

Those limits don’t apply to rotary craft.

Concerned neighbor
Guest
Concerned neighbor
2 years ago

good, keep knocking the doors down. can’t wait until federal legalization happens and this kind of BS isn’t in our backyards anymore.

clear all of Willits through Laytonville while you’re at it, you could throw a stone that would land on an illegal grow in that stretch

A
Guest
A
2 years ago

Lol it ever goes federal this area fucked. Look at alchohol

Mendocino Mamma
Guest
Mendocino Mamma
2 years ago

Them boys in the helicopters have you ever heard them talking? A bunch of rude jerks. Calling people names say horrible things think that they’re funny and cute joking with each other slapping each other on their backs yuck yuck yuck! Brooktrails has been an issue for many years. No one up there can permit up parcels too small, egress etc can not be maintained. But folks been filling their lots for 20+ years un addressed. Many local LEOs had pot cards in order to CULTIVATE HUGE GROWS BEFORE THAT IMPLODED. 99 WITH A DRs approval. REMEMBER THAT ANYONE?? Last of those over letters being written in 2012-2013. Folks would take them to court. Pay fines, fees attorney $400 an hour , consult doc 20k if court is cancelled so what you aint getting it back. NON REFUNDABLE. But they had their cases DISMISSED! Now the smart money earning lawyer that backed that sits as a JUDGE. He promised a lot, but sits at his bench hands tied, no law practiced, stamp the orders. He gets some great out of country vacations!!! Pay to play is flavor of they day, pay what I ask it will all go away…lovely words from our FINE DA!!! How do so many higher-up Mendocino County entities hold so much property on their reported “meager” salaries hmmm…?
Abate and buy for pennies on the dollar later. Sure they have a job to do but the club med good ole boys cult overlords it all. Boys n toys. HEE HAW The Environmental Health Director quit after over 20 years recently no replacement in sight. What does that say? He got sick of lemon lime koolaid!!! ❤

Legallettuce
Guest
Legallettuce
2 years ago

This is why they fly in the sky. 2/3 for us cause America likes that triangle high, lol

FBnative
Guest
2 years ago

” 50% of mendocino residents are involved in the cannabis industry” Come on Mendo! I have lived in Mendocino county, and known growers for 50 plus years. I can honestly say that I know 4 people involved in production, and I know hundreds of people! Maybe your neighborhood has 50% growers. Willits always was a dump! Covelo might have 50% but those are not locals.

Spliffywiffle
Guest
Spliffywiffle
2 years ago

Black chopper flying low in Rancho Navarro today. Time to load up the U-Haul and shuffle the cash crop to Albion or comptche