---
title: "Eerie Drone Footage Shows Postal Worker Deliver Mail in Wildfire-Destroyed Neighborhood"
description: "One of the most surreal—and strangely uplifting—things you'll see this year."
date: "2017-10-12"
modified: "2017-10-12"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/15083/eerie-drone-footage-shows-postal-worker-deliver-mail-in-wildfire-destroyed-neighborhood"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Watch This"
tags:
  - "California"
  - "drone"
  - "Drones"
  - "grumman llv"
  - "mail"
  - "postal service"
  - "wildfire"
---

# Eerie Drone Footage Shows Postal Worker Deliver Mail in Wildfire-Destroyed Neighborhood

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/10/mailman-1.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

We were pretty shocked when we saw that first-person video of a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy [driving through one of the raging wildfires](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/15065/deputys-dash-cam-video-from-the-california-wildfires-is-like-riding-through-hell>) in California this week as emergency crews work to get people out of the path of [the inferno.](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/14979/californias-sonoma-raceway-threatened-by-wildfires>) But this drone footage following a dedicated U.S. Post Office employee delivering mail in a completely burned-out neighborhood in Santa Rosa is one of the most striking things we've seen in a long time.

The [Postal Service](<https://www.thedrive.com/vintage/1541/vintage-pickups-haul-the-mail>) gets a lot of knocks over their outdated technology and occasionally-questionable customer service, but the sight of this little Grumman LLV puttering through the apocalyptic remains of the city's Coffey Park neighborhood is both bizarre and uplifting all at once. At least a thousand homes in Santa Rosa went up in flames earlier this week, which means thousands of people have had their lives completely upended and worldly possessions destroyed.

But just as "neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds," it looks like wildfires can't stop the mail either. While many residents haven't had a chance to return to what's left of their homes yet, seeing mail in their mailboxes will probably bring at least a fleeting sense of normality. Even in a neighborhood that's been reduced to rubble, life still goes on.

Why the deliveries, you might be wondering? [According to the *San Jose Mercury News*,](<https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/11/mail-carrier-delivers-to-devastated-santa-rosa-coffey-park/>) some residents contacted the local post office and asked for mail to be left at their properties if their mailboxes were still standing so they could retrieve the items whenever they're let back in by fire crews. Also, with nearly every recognizable landmark incinerated, props to the mailman for being able to recognize which house was which.

https://youtube.com/embed/3wsegE01zUE

The footage was shot by professional drone pilot Douglas Thron, who told the *San Jose Mercury News* the scale of the damage was "unbelievable," adding "I’ve never seen anything like it."

https://youtube.com/embed/ItcrGFBn39A

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)