While serving the much broader general aviation community, the County-owned airports are also valuable resources to the local residential and business communities. In addition to the money spent on the airports and in the surrounding communities by airport tenants and visitors, the airports are a source of jobs for local residents and offer the general public restaurants, recreation and aircraft viewing areas, aviation-related services such as aerial sight-seeing tours, aircraft charter and opportunities to learn how to fly.

Other significant benefits to the local community include, but are not limited to:

Enforcement - The County-owned airports facilitate the activities of the various City and County Police, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Marshals, Department of Homeland Security, and various other law enforcement agencies.

Fire Fighting - The County-owned airports serve as a base of operations for local fire fighting efforts by the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and other agencies. The U.S. Forest Service has a permanent year-round base of operations at General William J. Fox Airfield and is extremely busy during fire season.

Medical Services - The County-owned airports are frequently used for air ambulance and medevac activities involving the transport of persons, medical equipment, blood, organs or other urgent medical related materials and supplies.

Emergency Operations - The County-owned airports are used to accommodate the transportation and facility needs during an emergency or disaster.

News, Weather and Traffic Reporting - The County-owned airports are home base to numerous helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft flying and reporting daily for television and radio.

Youth Programs - The County-owned airports are home to numerous youth programs providing free orientation flights, low cost flight training, educational and community service opportunities, field trips and many other aviation-oriented activities. Also see Youth Programs & Opportunities.

Community Events & Activities - The County-owned airports host various events throughout each year which are open to the general public. Events include static aircraft displays, fly-ins, air races, air shows and others. Additionally, numerous tours of the airport facilities are provided each year to local schools and youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Tours of the airport facilities are available upon request and may be coordinated with the local airport manager.