It’s one of the first signs of the upcoming wildfire season. Calfire’s annual pilot training operations are getting underway this week and over the next three months. Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit Public Information Officer, Mary Eldridge says says pilots in this area do exercises between the Grass Valley Air Attack Base and McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento…

click to listen to Mary Eldridge

Chalk Bluff, north of Nevada City, and sections of the North Fork of the American River Drainage, northeast of Auburn, are once again being used for flight operations training…

click to listen to Mary Eldridge

Other activities include site landings, water dropping, and rescue operations, especially critical for what can be challenging terrain in the foothills. Eldridge says all aircraft, each off-season, get a thorough work-through, at McClellan, to make sure they’re still safe and effective.