The Nofog Corporation was a company that tried to create a device and chemical process to disperse fog over larger areas like airports.

The process was initially created by San Francisco chemist Clellan Ross Pleasants in 1936. An article at the time says he'd spent 8 years developing it, and it used a small combustion chamber less than 3 feet on a side, with a 6 foot flue. He had supposedly cleared fog from 16 square miles near the Golden Gate in a witnessed demonstration. 1 A 1938 article says previous tests had been performed by dropping chemical "bombs", but they had received permission to test in Berkeley by shooting the chemicals from the ground. 2

Despite some negative test results from the military, 3 they continued development. In 1947, they incorporated in California, with headquarters in San Francisco. 4 Later that year, they planned to test at the U.S. Army's Arcata airport 5 and Lockheed's Burbank air terminal. 6

By 1953, Warren Chiljan was running the company, and they were scheduled to run tests at Oakland Airport. 7 At this point Chiljan was running the company from his home at 4302 Evans Ave. There were additional tests run in the Bay Area during the 1950s, 8 but it seems no viable product came from it all. Chiljan died in 1962, 9 and references to Nofog mostly disappear, unlike the fog.

Links and References

  1. Fog Conquered By Chemist Pomona Progress Bulletin September 30, 1936
  2. Company Hopes To Blast Fog From S.F. Bay The Californian (Salinas) September 17, 1938
  3. Negative Results In Tests of No Fog, Navy Reports, Deflates Company Publicity Campaign Santa Cruz Sentinel April 4, 1946
  4. No-Fog Group Incorporates in California Tulare Advance-Register January 20, 1947
  5. Airport Anti-Fog Test Set for June The Bakersfield Californian May 5, 1947
  6. Airline Installs New Fog Dispersal System Vidette-Messenger of Porter County (Indiana) July 28, 1947
  7. Chemical Spray in Sky May Rout Bay Area Fog Oakland Tribune December 20, 1953
  8. Oakland Firm To Whisk Fog Away, But Make Rain Daily Independent Journal (San Rafael) April 1, 1954
  9. Warren Chiljan obituary Oakland Tribune August 13, 1962
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