Corn maze works too well — panicky patrons call 911

An undated overhead shot of the Cool Patch Pumpkins corn maze in Dixon, Calif. In a few instances, confused maze-goers have dialed 911 to get help navigating the labyrinth. An undated overhead shot of the Cool Patch Pumpkins corn maze in Dixon, Calif. In a few instances, confused maze-goers have dialed 911 to get help navigating the labyrinth. Photo: Williams, Kale / Courtesy Cool Patch Pumpkins Photo: Williams, Kale / Courtesy Cool Patch Pumpkins Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Corn maze works too well — panicky patrons call 911 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Along with decorative gourds and leaves changing color, the corn maze is one of the great symbols of the fall season.

Sometimes the agricultural labyrinths work too well, however. Consider the world’s largest corn maze, located in Dixon, where a few customers have become so lost they’ve dialed 911.

A few news reports have sounded alarms, saying the calls could take law enforcement away from important business. Solano County sheriff’s Deputy Daryl Snedeker, however, said the hullabaloo is much ado about not much.

“Over the month that the maze was open, we got maybe seven calls, and in only three of those cases did the people actually call 911,” he said. “We tell them to relax and we put a call into the owner rather than send out a deputy.”

The Dixon maze, run by Cool Patch Pumpkins, set a world record in 2007 at 40 acres, and it’s been expanding year by year to its current size of 63 acres.

Matt Cooley, who has been running the maze for a dozen years or so, said the 911 calls might be a sign that the labyrinth is getting too big for its own good.

“My brother, who designs the maze, always wants to make it bigger and better,” he said. “But we might scale it back a little next year.”

Cooley said that although the 911 calls have been getting more attention, this has actually been a pretty quiet year for Cool Patch Pumpkins.

“In past years we’ve had people who have passed out in there,” he said. “Nothing like that this year though — just a bunch of people who have gotten confused and called 911.”

Cooley said the proprietors provide maps for everyone entering the maze with explicit instructions not to call 911. Despite the warning, Cooley said, there’s always someone who freaks out in the middle of the maze.

When the sheriff contacts him with one of those cases, he generally takes one of three courses of action.

“Sometimes you just know people will get out anyway so you let them figure it out, and sometimes we’ll get their number and talk them directly,” Cooley said.

And option No. 3?

“We’ve got guys who can navigate that thing in the dark,” Cooley said. “So as a last resort, we’ll send in one of them to show them the way.”

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale