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Copter Buzz
updated: Jan 15, 2013, 8:44 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

Just looking for information on why I hav been hearing a helicopter possibly just hovering in the same area since about 2am this morning. I still hear it out there. Is there a search for someone going on or just monitoring a controlled burn?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 363607P	2013-01-15 08:48 AM
Don't hear it myself, but I know where I am and have no idea where you are.
COMMENT 363608	2013-01-15 08:48 AM
What area would that be? I hear some in my area (Summerland) but I know they're just doing drills.
COMMENT 363612	2013-01-15 08:51 AM
They're coming to take you away... haha, hayhay, heehee, hoho... they're coming to take you away....
COMMENT 363616	2013-01-15 09:00 AM
There was a helicopter hovering over Noleta last night for hours. No idea what was going on.
COMMENT 363620	2013-01-15 09:04 AM
We live by farmland off Winchester in Goleta and the drone of the heaters to keep crops from freezing over sounds alot like a helicopter hovering. Just my two cents.
COMMENT 363624	2013-01-15 09:07 AM
Freeze protection-wind machine/helichppper
COMMENT 363625	2013-01-15 09:08 AM
KSBY has a story this am about helicopters and avos etc.
COMMENT 363626	2013-01-15 09:09 AM
Yeah ... a location might be helpful.
COMMENT 363629	2013-01-15 09:19 AM
Drones are watching you.
COMMENT 363634	2013-01-15 09:30 AM
Yup, helicopters flying to keep crops from freezing. You might need to get used to it until the temps rise a bit. And thanks, 612, for making my morning. :D
COMMENT 363638	2013-01-15 09:38 AM
Farmers trying to save crops from freezing they will sometimes hire helicopters hover over them.
COMMENT 363648	2013-01-15 09:49 AM
Look for crop circles.
COMMENT 363651	2013-01-15 09:52 AM
Hiring a helicopter to hover over crops sounds horribly expensive :(
COMMENT 363652	2013-01-15 09:55 AM
@651 - probably not as expensive as losing the whole crop of avos and potentially the trees themselves!
COMMENT 363655	2013-01-15 09:58 AM
I live in Winchester Canyon and could here it all night and still this morning. My wife actually asked me to post about it on Edhat but looks like someone beat me to it! Thanks for the info 620!
COMMENT 363660	2013-01-15 10:08 AM
620 here again - It's the Patricia Bragg (Bragg Amino Acid) property with the crops.
COMMENT 363673	2013-01-15 10:29 AM
Could have been the g-birds up looking for someone.
COMMENT 363677	2013-01-15 10:37 AM
It's just cold brah. Confirmed.
COMMENT 363687	2013-01-15 10:55 AM
We're in Noleta. We didn't see helicopters, but we heard noise all night that sounded like it could have been helicopters, possibly in the distance. It was very loud and went on for a looong time, from about dusk on Monday to dawn this morning.
COMMENT 363699	2013-01-15 11:28 AM
I'm in Noleta too. The sound you're hearing is all the farms using heaters to keep their crops and plants from freezing. I live directly next to San Marcos Growers, within about 20' of the heaters. They're very loud, and I could see how they could be mistaken for a helicopter. I hear them every winter from dusk till dawn- totally normal, and I'm happy to bear with the farms' minor inconvenience to neighbors as they keep their crops alive.
COMMENT 363701	2013-01-15 11:32 AM
Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!
COMMENT 363706	2013-01-15 11:44 AM
The g-men are here too. We are watching you, tracking your comments.
COMMENT 363712	2013-01-15 11:59 AM
g-birds=ghetto birds
COMMENT 363716	2013-01-15 12:04 PM
We've all seen the fixed windmills in an orchard. They function like large fans. They mix the warmer air from above down to ground level to keep the crops from freezing. They do not actually heat the air. But farmers do use smudge pots to either/also provide heat to the orchard or crop rows. The windmills are powered by electricity, smudge pots burn diesel (tires in the old days). The helicopters provide the same function as a windmill. FYI, the yield for avocados is about 5,000 lbs per acre per year, and field prices have been $0.70-$1.00 a pound for California avocados. Losing part or all of the season's fruit is a huge issue for a grower; losing the trees is a catastrophe.
COMMENT 363789	2013-01-15 03:10 PM
If I was rich I would hire helicopter pilots to hover over Santa Barbara for long periods of time. What joy that would bring to me.
LALALALA	2013-01-16 02:44 AM
Helicopter hovering all night near Patterson and Hollister
COMMENT 363951P	2013-01-16 02:54 AM
It's not a helicopter. These are very LOUD fans that blow to save crops when it is cold. They put a lot of water on the ground, then blow powerful fans to create and INVERSION LAYER. This keeps the temperature slightly warmer near the ground - even often without the use of any heaters. They run all night till the sun comes when it is very cold and the crop is in danger of frost. One fan malfunction (if no back up) can mean a loss of thousands of dollars of yield.
COMMENT 363982	2013-01-16 07:52 AM
...and if they were still using the old standby smudge pots imagine how many complaints there would be...
COMMENT 364074	2013-01-16 12:11 PM
There needs to be a better way to heat the air, quieter and less polluting, noise or otherwise.
COMMENT 364362	2013-01-17 06:12 AM
@688 Save all the urbanite hot air? Boycott local citrus and avo's? Destroy local agriculture?
COMMENT 364598P	2013-01-17 02:12 PM
Here in Carp it sounds like an airplane continually trying to take off - not so much a helicopter. The laboring engine sound just goes on and on.

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