Washoe County, a Mosquito Picnic Area?
The bizarre weather has been very beneficial to the county after their mosquito abatement company “retired”. Commissioner Jeanne Herman and Commissioner Mike Clark have been sounding the alarm, following the wet winter and a rainy June that the Truckee Meadows has seldom seen over the last ten years.
Vector control is an important duty of the Health Department, part of the Washoe County government. In years past, abatement measures would have been well underway to protect the public from bloodborne pathogens spread by the annoying mosquito. The Washoe Health Department seems concerned with the spread of disease, dedicating a page on their website to the dangers of mosquitos. Their own words describe the dangers, “The Vector-Borne Disease Prevention Program (VBDPP) staff conducts tests to detect the presence of the arboviruses that cause West Nile Virus, St. Louis Encephalitis, and Western Equine Encephalitis. Doing this type of surveillance is an important initial step in the prevention of these diseases since the virus usually shows up in wild and domestic animals before the first human cases appear.” Yet Washoe County is behind the curve this dank season, and Picon has learned why.
Washoe County Health Department image - This helicopter is owned by Alpine Helicopter Service in Lodi, CA.
Last year, at about this time, Washoe County paid nearly $40,000 to a California helicopter company, Alpine Helicopter Service. The company, based in Lodi, CA has apparently been spraying for mosquitos at the request of the County for years. A couple of months ago, Washoe County announced the pilot had retired and they were trying to establish a new vendor. What the County has failed to disclose is the company appears to have been sued into closure.
In 2019, Alpine Helicopter, owned by 73-year-old, Joel Dozhier, was accused of spraying pesticides for mosquito control on pumpkin fields in Stockton, CA. The spray drifted onto a soccer field with kids playing. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged on five prior occasions between 2014 and 2020, Alpine Helicopter endangered the public with errant spraying. The lawsuit concluded with a finding that John Dozhier and three of his employees were found liable for irresponsibly spraying pesticides in California. The monetary damages were reported in excess of $200,000.00.
Based on the lawsuit and findings, it stands to reason this company would be an insurance risk, if they could be insured at all, and their license with the EPA to handle and disperse the pesticides may be limited as well. Depending on the damages awarded, other similarly situated companies may be reluctant to take on the liability of airborne dispersal of pesticides in proximity to humans. We hope Washoe County Health Department will answer some questions, as readers are concerned about mosquito risks this year.
Picon Press reached out twice to Mr. Dozhier without a response. The Washoe County Health Department responded to our request after we published this story. Here is their comment, “In February 2023, we were notified by Alpine Helicopter Service Inc. that their helicopter pilot was retiring and no longer going to fly. We immediately began searching for a new vendor. Soon after, we became aware of the ruling against the company in a matter related to agricultural pesticide drifts in California. In Washoe County, we only do helicopter mosquito larvicide treatments using a dry, environmentally-friendly, granular product designed to primarily target mosquitos of disease. We don’t use liquid pesticide for our aerial applications. We are working hard to provide an aerial larviciding treatment as soon as possible and will update the community when details are finalized.” It is good to know our residents will not be exposed to what the residents of Stockton, CA were.
With a banner water year, standing water all over the county and no preemergent spraying occurring, the County may be facing a record year of mosquito-based illnesses. Although May and June were cooler and wetter than normal, starting Thursday, June 29th temperatures are predicted to soar into the mid-80s followed by several days of mid-90s. Who will be spraying and when is still in the works, as reported from the Health Department on June 27, 2023.