Authorities say noisy farmers are within their rights

By KRIS REILLY, Editor

For some Lucerne Valley residents, the first sign of autumn is the sound of gunfire in the air.

In many cases, the sounds are not actual gunshots; they’re blasts from propane cannons used to scare birds away from crops.

Speaking at last week’s meeting of the Municipal Advisory Council, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Sgt. Wendell Anderson said the Lucerne Valley substation has received several calls from people claiming to hear shots in their neighborhoods.

Anderson said most of the calls turned out to be farmers firing off blank rounds or using propane cannons (which make a loud noise but do not discharge any projectiles) to frighten birds and pests.

As harvest time nears, many local fruit and nut growers are using the noisemaking devices, and many of their neighbors aren’t happy about it.

“What they’re doing is completely within the county code and completely within their legal purview to protect their crops,” Anderson said at the meeting.

Anderson did say that farmers could possibly be disturbing the peace if they’re using the devices during nighttime hours.

“If they’re using them at night, particularly when people are trying to sleep, that would be an issue that we might try to address,” Anderson said in a phone interview last week. “But we’ve yet to receive any calls like that.”

The good news for unhappy neighbors: The crops will be harvested in less than a month, and the noise will subside.

Anderson added that some of the noise could be coming from hunters. He said hunters must be 150 yards away from any structure and cannot hunt on private land without permission. Anderson said deputies “will respond and attempt to locate hunters” if they are suspected of hunting in prohibited areas.

The Lucerne Valley substation dispatch line can be reached at (760) 248-7328.

Kris Reilly can be reached at editor@lucernevalleyleader.com or at (760) 248-7878