Malathion Spraying Base Moves to Fullerton Airport

State officials announced Friday that they will move the Southland’s squad of malathion-spraying helicopters to Orange County, with twice-weekly night flights from Fullerton Municipal Airport starting Wednesday.

The decision came despite protests from Fullerton officials concerned about noise and safety associated with the operation to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly. Five helicopters, refueling tanks and a ground crew of about 12 people will be based at the airport to conduct malathion sprayings in parts of Orange and Los Angeles counties.

“My major pitch is, let’s seek other alternatives before you come in and ram this down our throats,” said Fullerton Mayor A. B. (Buck) Catlin, who wrote to state officials Friday in an effort to block the move.

Since August of last year, the helicopter squad had been based at El Monte Airport, which is operated by Los Angeles County. But state officials had an agreement with El Monte officials to leave the airport after Thursday’s spraying of the Eagle Rock and South Pasadena areas, said Larry Cooper, a spokesman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture.

Noise from the nighttime helicopter takeoffs and landings prompted complaints from residents around the airport, Cooper said, so state officials decided to move the operation to another airport out of fairness to El Monte residents.

“I guess somebody thought it was time to move it . . . and share the noise with someone else,” said William C. Winter, city manager of Fullerton.

Catlin anticipates more complaints than ever over noise from the Fullerton airport, which serves more than 500 private pilots. For years, Buena Park residents and officials have complained about the noise and demanded that Fullerton close its airport. Officials of Buena Park, which sits beneath the airport’s takeoff path, were not available for comment late Friday.

Under the malathion spraying plan, the helicopters will depart at about 9 p.m. and return several times to refuel and reload the pesticide-laced corn syrup that serves as a bait for the Medfly. The helicopters, which usually return for the last time at about 1 a.m., are scheduled to operate out of Fullerton for at least four weeks.

City officials will meet with attorneys Monday to discuss ways to try and stop the helicopters from moving to Fullerton, Winter said.

“If we’re forced to have them come, we’ll put them on the north side of the airport, which is the farthest area away from residents,” Winter said. “That would be the least obnoxious place for them to go.”

Fullerton officials were notified of the possible move on Thursday and received final confirmation in a letter faxed to Catlin Friday afternoon.

The city sent a letter to Isi A. Siddiqui, the state’s malathion spraying project director, in which Catlin refused to let the state use the Fullerton airport. He suggested John Wayne Airport and the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center as alternatives.

A reply was received from Henry J. Voss, director of the Food and Agriculture Department, who wrote that Fullerton has no choice in the matter. Gov. George Deukmejian has declared a Medfly infestation emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Santa Clara counties, giving the state the right to use whatever property it needs, his letter said.

The state considered several other airports but chose Fullerton because of its small size and location, Cooper said.

John Wayne Airport has too many other flights coming and going that might interfere with the helicopter operation, Cooper said, adding that aerial spraying is much safer when based at a small airport. Cooper said he didn’t know if the military airfield at Los Alamitos was considered, and state officials who made the decision had left for the day.

Most flights into Fullerton end about 8 p.m. when the airport’s control tower closes, Catlin said, so the helicopters are unlikely to interfere with the airport’s regular operations.

On Wednesday, the five helicopters will spray infestation areas in Garden Grove and Panorama City in Los Angeles County, and the following week, the Garden Grove area will receive its final scheduled spraying, Cooper said. That area includes almost all of Garden Grove, half of Westminster and parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Orange, Santa Ana and Stanton. State inspectors last found a Medfly in Orange County in February.

Even after Orange County sprayings are complete, Fullerton will be used as the base of operations for sprayings in a nine-square-mile area of Compton, where an infestation of Mexican fruit flies recently was discovered. Other sprayings of other areas might be needed if more Medflies are found, Cooper said.

Besides Fullerton, the state will continue using airports in Riverside and San Diego counties in the aerial spraying effort, he said.

Staff writer Eric Lichtblau contributed to this story