Fire damaged a historic hangar early Tuesday at the former Tustin Air Base in Orange County.
The fire was reported at about 1:30 a.m. near Valencia Avenue and Armstrong Road, where flames were shooting through the roof of the towering wooden hangar. Parts of the roof feel to the ground, and firefighters took up positions outside the hanger due to the threat of collapse.
The fire authority called in a helicopter to help fight the fire.
Details about a cause were not immediately available. No injuries were reported.
A news conference was scheduled for 7 a.m.
“We have determined the most operationally sound method is to allow the structure to collapse, at which point ground crews can move in closer, and aggressively work to extinguish the fire,” the Orange County Fire Authority tweeted.
The fire is in hangars that once housed blimps used in World War II. They stand 17 stories high, are over 1,000 feet long and 300 feet wide. They were, and still are, two of the largest wooden structures ever built, according to the website Tustin Hangars.
The nearly 1,600-acre property was commissioned in 1942 and played a significant role in Navy and Marine aviation for half a century. In 1999, the air base was closed.
The historic hangars have been featured in television and films, including “JAG,” “The X Files,” “Austin Powers,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Star Trek.”
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Source: NBC Los Angeles
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