The Cuyama Valley’s L88 airstrip was saved from closure by a community effort to raise funds for repairs.
"Small town airstrips are dying out in California, so preserving this was a pretty historical event," said Em Johnson, from community non-profit Blue Sky Center, who manage and maintain the airstrip.
She said the airstrip is critical to emergency support for Cuyama communities.
"The Cuyama Valley is pretty far removed from essential resources that towns normally have," Johnson told KCLU.
"So there's people that live in this 300 square mile region that really rely on air medical services. It also serves as a resource in case of wildfires - as a base for the Forest Service," Johnson added.
The airstrip is also a place for pilots in training and doesn’t charge pilots to use the airstrip.
