ASTREA is an acronym for Aerial Support To Regional Enforcement Agencies, the air support unit of the

San Diego County Sheriff's Department The San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSD), is the primary and largest law enforcement agency in San Diego County, California, and one of the largest sheriff's departments in the United States: with over 4,000 employees, an annual budget ...

. ASTREA Base is located at Gillespie Field Airport in

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

History

1972 - ASTREA began operations with three Korean War-era

Bell 47G The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first he ...

helicopters based at Gillespie Field in El Cajon. 1997 - On February 16, Deputy Patrick "Pat" S. Coyle, 42, died after the ASTREA helicopter in which he and pilot Ron Hobson were flying crashed in Sycamore Canyon, northeast of

Santee, California Santee is a suburban city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 60,075 at the 2020 census. Although it is a part of the East County region, Santee is located just from the Pacific Ocean. The city is connected to the coastline ...

. His death marked the first fatality in the then 25-year history of the sheriff's air support unit. 2003 -

Cedar Fire The Cedar Fire was a massive, highly-destructive wildfire, which burned of land in San Diego County, California, San Diego County, California, during October and November 2003. The fire's rapid growth was driven by the Santa Ana wind, causing ...

and Paradise Fire 2005 - ASTREA receives two refurbished Bell 205A-1++ "Super Huey" firefighting helicopters. These are the first two aircraft purchased for the new regional

fire helicopter Helitack crews are teams of Wildfire suppression, wildland firefighters who are transported by helicopter to wildfires. Helicopters provide rapid transport, enabling helitack crews to quickly respond and assess a wildfire situation. Helitack cr ...

program the county started after the October 2003 wildfires. Both are single-engine, medium-lift copters equipped with 375 gallon underbelly water tanks. The helicopters arrived at Gillespie Field after a three-day, 2,000-mile flight from Eagle Copters of Calgary, Canada. They are designated Copter 10 and 12. 2008 - A new Bell 407 is acquired and equipped to support law enforcement and command and control missions. 2009 - ASTREA sells two of its Hughes 500Ds. (ASTREA 2 & 4) These will eventually be replaced with MD530Fs. 2010 - The only MD500E owned by ASTREA is converted to an MD530F, which is better suited for high altitude and hot weather operations. 2015 - ASTREA adds a Bell 407GX to the fleet (N972PC). On September 29, ASTREA receives a third Bell 205A-1. Like the first two, Copter 11 was rebuilt by Eagle Copters and flown from Calgary to El Cajon.

Aircraft

As of January 2021, ASTREA's fleet consists of 8 helicopters: *The 407 models can be equipped with a

Bambi bucket A helicopter bucket is a specialised bucket suspended on a cable carried by a helicopter to deliver water for aerial firefighting. Each bucket has a release valve on the bottom which is controlled by the helicopter crew. When the helicopter is i ...

for use in

firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

, while the Bell 205s have 375 gallon belly tanks already installed.

References

* Goldin, J. (2003). San Diego move aerial support teams into one home. ''Air Beat Magazine''. Retrieved April 9, 2004 from https://web.archive.org/web/20040618125310/http://alea.org/public/airbeat/back_issues/jan_feb_2003/sdso.htm . * Gross, G. (March 24, 2004). Joint-use plan for helicopters still sought. ''San Diego Union-Tribune''. Retrieved April 14, 2004 from http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/fires/20040327-9999-news_7m27helo.html . * Moreland, J. (August 3, 2000). Sheriff has new helicopter, robot for rescues, crime-fighting. ''North County Times''. Retrieved April 9, 2004 from http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2000/08/04/export14261.txt . * Moreland, J. (August 15, 2002). Sheriff dedicates new emergency center. ''North County Times''. Retrieved April 14, 2004 from http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2002/08/16/export16249.txt .

External links

San Diego County Sheriff's Department Official Website

Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA)

ALEA Unit Photographs - San Diego County Sheriff's Department
- photographs of ASTREA
County of San Diego Official Website
Government of San Diego County, California Sheriffs' departments of California {{US-law-enforcement-agency-stub