Red Bluff Air Force Station Red Bluff Air Force Station ( ADC ID : SM - 157 , NORAD ID : Z - 157 ) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station . It is located west - southwest of Red Bluff , California . It was closed in 1970 . History . Red Bluff Air Force Station was initially part of Phase II of the Air Defense Command Mobile Radar program . The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program on October 23 , 1952 . Radars in this network were designated “ SM . ” The station consisted of 30 . 84 acres , was acquired by the Air Force on May 25 , 1955 . The station became operational on 1 April 1956 when the 859th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was moved to the new station . Initially Red Bluff used AN / MPS - 8 and AN / MPS - 11 radars , and initially the station functioned as a Ground - Control Intercept ( GCI ) and warning station . As a GCI station , the squadron ' s role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit ' s radar scopes . The AN / MPS - 11 remained until 1963 . In 1959 the Air Force placed AN / FPS - 6 and - 6A height - finder radars and removed the AN / MPS - 8 from Red Bluff . During 1960 Red Bluff AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) system , feeding data to DC - 13 at Adair AFS , Oregon . After joining , the squadron was redesignated as the 859th Radar Squadron ( SAGE ) on 15 July 1960 . The radar squadron provided information 24 / 7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range , direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile . On 31 July 1963 , the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z - 157 . In 1964 Red Bluff became a joint - use facility with the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) , using the AN / FPS - 67 search and AN / FPS - 6 and AN / FPS - 90 height - finder radars located on site . In addition to the main facility , Red Bluff operated several AN / FPS - 14 Gap Filler sites : The 859th was inactivated 30 September 1970 and the station was closed due to budget restraints . 8 . 1 acres were turned over to the FAA on November 15 , 1971 , and 22 . 615 acres , currently known as Ridgeway County Park , were turned over to the Tehema County for use as a public park on August 2 , 1972 . The 4 . 24 - acre Red Bluff Housing Annex included 16 family housing units , located within the city of Red Bluff in Tahema County . It was declared excess and turned over to GSA on December 10 , 1970 . In 1972 , GSA quitclaimed portions of the 4 . 24 acres to 17 grantees , and the remaining 0 . 03 acres turned over to the City of Red Bluff by the Dept . of Health , Education , and Welfare . A 1991 Family Housing Area report stated that the original housing area , currently divided among 14 owners as 17 single - family homes , were all occupied . The majority of the site ( excluding Family Housing ) is known as Ridgeway County Park , with the remainder used by the FAA as a weather station . Many of the original structures have been removed . Structures present and still in use at the time of a 1991 USACE site investigation include the operations building , rec hall , pump house and well , and sewage treatment facility . Structures still present but not used since DOD occupation include a swamp cooler for the rec hall , the sewage treatment plant chlorinator , and the sewage treatment pump house .