Local News in Brief : Pilots Take Clothing, Food to Village in Baja

For the eighth consecutive year, a group of San Fernando Valley pilots transported planeloads of food and clothing to an impoverished Baja California village at Thanksgiving, a spokesman for the pilots said Saturday.

Wyn Selwyn of Burbank said the last contingent of four single-engine planes left early Saturday from Whiteman Airport in Pacoima for Santa Rosalia, a small Mexican village about 600 miles south of San Diego. Four other planes took off Friday from Van Nuys Airport, he said.

The pilots are members of Squadrons 35 and 81 of the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary wing of the U.S. Air Force that searches for lost planes, Selwyn said. For the past 8 years, the group has donated its time and planes for the trip, he said. Members also donated the food and clothing.

Santa Rosalia, which has about 600 residents, was chosen to receive supplies because a copper mine that once supported the region closed several years ago, leaving many residents unemployed, Selwyn said.

The American pilots and their crews were treated to dinner Saturday by the Santa Rosalia Rotary Club, Selwyn said. They planned to spend the night in the village and make the 4-hour flight back today, he said.