Ocean Ridge Airport

California has been experiencing a series of intense rain storms for the last week. This extreme weather is expected to last into next week. It has caused extensive damage to the power infrastructure throughout the region, with most people having lost power for days on end. Down trees and power lines, flooded rivers, and mudslides are common sights around here right now.

The airport is closed to the public. Additionally, the runway has been closed to all aircraft through a NOTAM issued this weekend. This closure will last for at least several weeks. 

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has taken over the airport for staging of personnel, materials, and equipment while it works to repair damage throughout the region caused by this current series of storms. We’ve been told there will be 300 people on the site–it’s a big operation!

Airport tenants (hangars, minstorage, and industrial building) are being notified of this closure. They will have access to their units once PG&E has finalized the staging of its materials and equipment.

Despite the immense personal cost, John Bower has worked diligently to keep the airport operational and available for decades for uses exactly like this–as a public service to the community and greater region. As you all know, many of us (including the owner, who lives on the property!) still do not have power and therefore no heat, lights, or the ability to cook and clean as usual. Our region’s students will be out of school until power is restored. It’s important that we cooperate with PG&E so it can get reliable power back on for all its customers. 

We appreciate your understanding and patience during this experience. We’re all in this together.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the airport manager, Julie Bower at 925-337-4145 or at juliebower001@gmail.com. 

The NOTAM for runway closure has been extended through Friday night, September 17, 2021 to allow more time to finish the painting. The airport was socked in with fog all day today (forecast again for tomorrow), which resulted in extra work of reapplying all our chalk lines that had washed off over night. But we’re getting there! Your patience is appreciated.

A NOTAM has been issued for runway closure for Saturday, September 11, 2021 through Wednesday, September 15, 2021. This is probably more time than we need for applying the markings but we want wriggle room just in case.

We are all noticing supply chain issues with materials these days and this runway project is no different. The intense winter storm that hit Texas back in February affected some manufacturing plants that supply resins for paint and other industries. As a result, it has been difficult to track down white traffic paint to apply the markings on the runway. Luckily our paint suppliers and local businesses have been helping us find a few buckets here and a few buckets there.

Have a great weekend everyone! We look forward to welcoming you back to E55 soon.

Hello friends of Ocean Ridge Airport!

The airport will be closed in the next week for some runway pavement work. We’re not sure how much time will be needed before the actual slurrying to get things prepared or afterward to get the markings applied. So we can’t give exact closure dates yet. But we are told that the contractor will be doing the slurry work on Saturday, September 11.

As always, please check the appropriate resources for NOTAMs. For general information, you can also check here on the airport website for closure information as it becomes available. 

It’s been 7 years since we last had the runway reslurried and it’s long overdue. The price has more than doubled and, just as it was back in 2014, we’re lucky to have found a company willing to come all the way up here to do the work. It’s getting harder and harder to find–and of course more and more expensive. If you care to donate toward the cost, it would be most appreciated.

We appreciate your understanding and patience while this work is done! 

At long last, we are very excited to host a webcam and a weather station on the east side of the Pilot Lounge. This allows you to check the live weather conditions on the runway to the north, east, and south at any time: www.webcamwx.com.

If you are planning a flight along the coast, you can check the weather at a several locations.

Fly safely everyone!

Good news! Ocean Ridge Airport has been re-opened for all aircraft. The previous NOTAM expired on June 1, 2020.

Please note that Mendocino County is still under a shelter-in-place Health Order. Masks/face coverings are required in all public places within the County, including inside all stores. Lodging for leisure/tourism is still prohibited and, like the rest of the State, social distancing is still required. None of our Gualala restaurants are offering sit down dining yet, only take-out orders. Keep these things in mind if you travel to our community by air or by car.

Our rural county and especially the isolated “south coast” of our county is extremely limited in terms of medical care even in the best of times. So during this pandemic, it is particularly important that we act mindfully to keep our community as safe and as protected as possible. Your understanding of the airport closures is appreciated and we look forward to seeing everyone again once this pandemic has passed.

Please continue to follow the health orders of your region and follow CDC recommendations for proper handwashing technique.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Stay grounded at home, stay healthy, stay safe!

Ocean Ridge Airport has been re-opened for non-transient aircraft. The NOTAM was updated yesterday with an arbitrary end-date of June 1, 2020. We hope to re-open the airport for all aircraft before then but it will depend on state and local governance decisions.

Our rural county and especially the isolated “south coast” of our county is extremely limited in terms of medical care even in the best of times. So during this pandemic, it is particularly important that we act mindfully to keep our community as safe and as protected as possible. Your understanding of the airport closures is appreciated and we look forward to seeing everyone again once this pandemic has passed.

Please continue to follow the health orders of your region and follow CDC recommendations for proper handwashing technique.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Stay grounded at home, stay healthy, stay safe!

Ocean Ridge Airport will remain closed until the Mendocino County Shelter-in-Place Order has been lifted. This Order and the similar State of California Order forbids non-essential travel. Mendocino County now has four confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The NOTAM was updated today with an arbitrary end-date of June 1, 2020. We hope to re-open the airport before then but it will depend on state and local governance decisions.

Your support of this decision is appreciated and we look forward to seeing you again once this pandemic has passed. Please follow the health orders of your region and follow CDC recommendations for proper handwashing technique.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Stay grounded at home, stay healthy, stay safe!

Ocean Ridge Airport will be closed starting tomorrow, Monday, March 22, 2020 to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Mendocino County was placed under a shelter-in-place order last week that forbids non-essential travel and the State of California subsequently placed a similar order a few days later. Mendocino County reported its first positive COVID-19 patient and the patient was tested at a “south coast clinic” so it is right here in our community already. The airport closure will last at least until the Mendocino County order has been lifted (currently April 7, 2020 but that can change).

We have contacted the most frequent flyers of the airport to let them know directly.

Your support of this decision is appreciated and we look forward to seeing you again once this pandemic has passed. Please follow the health orders of your region and follow CDC recommendations for proper handwashing technique.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

Stay grounded at home, stay healthy, stay safe!

We are very appreciative of the donations given to the airport to help fill the funding gap left from our fundraising efforts to repair the runway. But there is still a need to fill the holes in our fundraising goals:

• Right now, the slurry resealing funding gap is down to only $3125 needed.
• The prep work funding gap is still quite large, requiring another $8300.

If you would like to donate toward either of these gaps you can find out how here.

But we have good news!

Last year we were given until 9/30/2014 to repair the runway. Luckily we got that done ahead of schedule. We kept wondering, though: would it meet the CalTrans requirements?  All indications were affirmative but without the official approval of the permitting agency, we were all on our toes.

Just last week our new CalTrans inspector came out to visit the airport for the annual review. We’re excited to announce that the runway repairs passed!

The only to-do item noted in the inspection was some to mow down some vegetation around the runway in the safety zones.  This will be taken care of very soon.

Fly safely, everyone!