Each summer, as wildfires begin flaring up across Northern California, something unusual rolls up to the edge of McClellan Airport’s runway: a truck hauling a trailer topped with a glass-paneled perch. It might look like a mobile home, but inside it’s a fully functioning air traffic control tower.
Most of the year, McClellan Airport in Sacramento is a non-towered airport; meaning there’s no one directing aviation traffic from a control room. Pilots flying in and out of the former Air Force base—home to Cal Fire, business jets and flight schools—talk to each other over a shared radio frequency and hope everyone stays on the same page.
But during fire season, that’s not good enough. That’s when the mobile tower rolls in.
“It’s not flashy,” said Titus Gall, the 76-year-old founder of Tower Tech, the Placer County company behind the setup. “But it does the job.”
Gall, a retired FAA controller known to most as “Stretch,” has been bringing mobile towers to McClellan for years. His team arrived in early July this year and will stay through the end of the fire season, likely into October.
Walking into the trailer, visitors first step into a modest living space equipped with seating, a shower and a kitchen. The amenities are there if needed, though the controllers typically stay in nearby hotels. At the far end, a set of stairs leads up to the control tower. It’s not exactly like the movies: no sweeping radar screens or blinking consoles, just two experienced controllers with radios, iPads and a clear view of the runway.
A Tower Tech controller monitors a departing aircraft from the mobile tower cab at McClellan Airport on July 16, 2025. The temporary tower is brought in each summer to help manage increased wildfire traffic.Greg Micek/CapRadio
“It’s a full tower cab up top,” Gall said. “And underneath, we’ve got everything the team needs while they’re on site.”
Cal Fire generally calls upon the tower twice a year. First in spring, when pilots go through training, and again in summer, when firefighting activity spikes.
“We usually use the tower in late February through May, and then again during peak activity in the summer,” said Chris Jurasek, Cal Fire’s staff chief of tactical operations. “It adds another level of awareness for our pilots and the general aviation aircraft using the airfield.”
Without it, pilots rely on what's known as the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency, or CTAF. Essentially, a self-coordinated radio call-in line. It’s the standard used at the vast majority of airports in the U.S. Of the nearly 20,000 airfields nationwide, only about 500 have active control towers. But when McClellan fills up with tankers, helicopters and business jets, the skies get crowded fast.
The mix of aircraft—from slow-moving single-engine planes to large jets—creates a busy airspace with competing priorities. Gall said the volume and complexity of activity at McClellan can make it feel “very chaotic” without a tower in place.
The potential for conflict was on display in June, just before Gall’s trailer arrived, when a Cal Fire tanker and a flight school aircraft clashed over the radio. The two pilots disagreed on the preferred landing pattern into McClellan. The incident was resolved quickly, but it sparked debate in the aviation community. Some sided with the flight school, others with Cal Fire. The flight school was hit with a wave of negative reviews online.
The FAA says well-defined procedures make nontowered airports safe, but McClellan isn’t just any airport. It’s a launch point for critical firefighting missions, and mistakes can have serious consequences.
“When those tankers start flying, if there’s no tower here to organize that traffic picture, it’s almost a dangerous situation,” Gall said.
Tower Tech, which uses custom-built trailers manufactured by TPD Custom Trailers in Sacramento, is built around speed and flexibility. Gall’s crews—mostly retired FAA controllers—can deploy within 24 hours. They’ve supported everything from firefighting efforts to airshows and even celebrity golf tournaments.
“I’ve got a team of retired FAA controllers,” Gall said. “They’re experienced, they’re sharp, and they still love the work. I just have to keep them happy.”
Gall says he does that with competitive pay, covered expenses, and a management style borrowed from his father.
“Your employees are the ones creating your reputation,” he said. “You better take care of them. I want them to be comfortable, and I want them to be happy to be here.”
McClellan Airport’s permanent control tower remains inactive on July 16, 2025. The structure is awaiting final FAA approval for full-time use.Greg Micek/CapRadioMcClellan does have a permanent tower; one that was decommissioned after the Air Force left in the late 1990’s. That structure has since been remodeled, and the FAA confirmed it’s now on track to become a full-time facility under an FAA policy that allows private companies to staff busy but smaller airports.
“[McClellan] is a candidate for the FAA’s Federal Contract Tower Program,” the agency said. “We anticipate that will occur in November 2025.”
Still, approval doesn’t guarantee McClellan’s tower will stay staffed. Sacramento Executive Airport’s contract tower has struggled to stay fully staffed due to a shortage of qualified controllers. McClellan could face similar delays.
As for Gall, he’s in no rush to call it quits.
“There’s always plans,” he said of retirement. “But plans change.”
Whatever the future brings, Gall and his tower-on-wheels is ready to roll.
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