Sonora, CA…Law Enforcement with the Stanislaus National Forest is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying and apprehending those responsible for an unlawful entry and theft between noon, Saturday, January 28 and 7:30 a.m., Sunday, January 29, 2023 at the Stanislaus National Forest’s Bald Mountain Helitak base off of Highway 108.

The theft at the helitak base resulted in the loss of various firefighting, aviation, and forestry equipment. Initial estimates place the value of the stolen property between $40,000 and $50,000. This latest theft is in addition to break-ins at the Forest Supervisor’s Office in Sonora (catalytic convertors were removed from vehicles), the Mi-Wok District Office, and the Summit District Office over the last six months.

“Fighting fire is a difficult enough challenge without the loss of our equipment,” said Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor, Jason Kuiken. “Obviously we will replace the equipment, but this is not something we have a budget for, thus funds will have to come from different program areas meaning the degrading of other services provided by forest staff. The forest will also need to repair the vandalism to these federal facilities (broken windows, damaged fencing, general clean-up of ransacked buildings). This too will have an impact to other program areas and the services we offer.”

Anyone with information relating to the theft at Bald Mountain Helitak Base or any of the recent break-ins are encouraged to contact Stanislaus National Forest Law Enforcement at 530-906-2087.

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