It is true that the Cameron Park Airport has been dark at night for two years; however, the Airport's operating permit, issued by Caltrans, has enabled 24x7 operations for almost the entirety of its 60-year history.

As an outcome of routine annual safety inspections by Caltrans, in December 2018 the airport's runway and taxiway lights were temporarily turned off while obstructions in the arrival and departure corridors were cleared. The underlying California Code Section is Public Utilities Code 21659 which states, in essence, that property owners shall not let natural growth (trees), or structures penetrate the overlying airspace.  The airport’s runway and taxiway lights were de-activated while work to bring properties into compliance was underway. While the mitigation work is now substantially complete and the job is transitioning into a maintenance mode, serious maintenance efforts continue.

Caltrans authorized "re-energizing" the lights and the airport did so on Friday, February 19, 2021. After two years without night operations while the work was underway, there is now a flurry of night flying due to the renewed availability of the runway lights.  The airport expects for the volume of night operations to calm down to pre-2019 levels in due course.

If you are a pilot, as always, please exercise courtesy and common sense when flying at Cameron Park Airport (day or night) by landing beyond the displaced thresholds and complying with the Noise Abatement procedures. Maps showing airport information including general traffic patterns are available HERE on this website.

Please contact the Airport Manager if you have questions or comments.