Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay is a United States Coast Guard Air Station, with command and primary assets located at the Arcata-Eureka Airport in

McKinleyville, California McKinleyville (formerly Minorsville) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Humboldt County, California McKinleyville is located north of Arcata, at an elevation of . The population was 15,177 at the 2010 census, up from 13,599 at the time of the ...

, 16 miles north of

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

in Humboldt County. The station is the site of the

command center A command center (often called a war room) is any place that is used to provide centralized command for some purpose. While frequently considered to be a military facility, these can be used in many other cases by governments or businesses ...

for all Coast Guard personnel stationed and assets located on the coasts of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Del Norte Counties. It is one of five air stations in the Eleventh Coast Guard District.

Operations and missions

Air Station Humboldt Bay consists of 4 MH-65D

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s and the primary mission is search and rescue (SAR). Most cases are dramatic and lifesaving in nature due to the rough seas and generally poor weather conditions prevalent on the northern California coast. The Air Station also provides

MEDEVAC Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

support for injured personnel in the surrounding mountains. Secondary missions include aerial support for

Aids to Navigation Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

, Maritime Law enforcement, and Marine Environmental Protection along 250 miles of rugged coastline from the Mendocino- Sonoma County line north to the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

border. The Command Center located at CGAS Humboldt Bay monitors for distress 24 hours a day and directs

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

boats and aircraft to respond to any maritime emergency in the region; along the coast, well offshore, or even inland. The Group / Air Station also works with many local, state and federal agencies as needed.

History

The Coast Guard has long had a presence on and about Humboldt Bay. Beginning in 1856 and continuing uninterrupted, the service has operated on Humboldt Bay and provided life-saving assistance on the Bay and all along the North Coast, out at sea and, as time went by, it has assisted other agencies, providing assistance in the interior in remote locations, on rivers and lakes and, especially, in mountainous terrain and in forests and related park and private lands as called upon. On Humboldt Bay the USCG has operated at the same site continuously at least since 1878 based at its historic facility, the Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station. Even with a cutter based at Eureka's docks and another at Crescent City, command in the modern era was split as air support was directed from San Francisco. However, on June 24, 1977 as the culmination of a multi-year initiative by local residents and groups to gain a year-round aviation search and rescue (SAR) facility for Northern

, the Coast Guard Group/Air Station Humboldt Bay was commissioned, complete with new assets, at the Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville, California. Prior to 1977, an aviation detachment from

Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco, California at the San Francisco International Airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County. The air sta ...

provided air coverage during the summer season, but the response time of over two hours was not fast enough for victims to survive in the 40-50 degree water commonly found along the north coast. Originally named Air Station Arcata, the Group / Air Station was re-designated to its current name in May 1982. A modern $3.5 million facility constructed at the Arcata-Eureka Airport also relocated boat station command and control from the historic facility in Samoa to establish centralized command and control over all Coast Guard assets throughout the region.

References

External links

States Coast Guard official site

CGAS Humboldt Bay official site

Eleventh Coast Guard District official site

HH-65 Air Stations
{{US Coast Guard navbox Buildings and structures in Humboldt County, California United States Coast Guard Air Stations Military installations in California Airports in Humboldt County, California 1977 establishments in California