Crews battling brush fire at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Crews from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department were assisting Vandenberg Air Force Base firefighters in battling a brush fire Saturday evening.
Called the Canyon Fire, the blaze reportedly was burning on South Base, the area south of Highway 246, according to emergency dispatch reports.
Santa Barbara County Fire sent several engines, bulldozers, a hand crew and an air-support-unit helicopter to assist Vandenberg crews, according to a spokesman.
The size of the fire wasn’t immediately known.
As of 8 p.m., a VAFB public affairs representative said he could not release any information, adding that they were seeking approval from commanders and that the situation was fluid.
Air tankers and other aircraft also responded to assist.
Just before 10 p.m., firefighters said flames were moving toward Honda Canyon on South Base. The fire jumped some dozer lines, according to emergency dispatch reports.
Honda Canyon is the site of a deadly fire that sparked Dec. 20, 1977, when a blaze killed the base commander, fire chief, assistant chief and a fire dozer operator.
South Base currently has an Atlas V rocket sitting on Space Launch Complex-3, with its WorldView-4 satellite on board, in anticipation of Sunday’s launch attempt.
United Launch Alliance officials said Saturday that technicians had replaced a valve that caused a leak and forced mission managers to scrub Friday’s blastoff and try again Sunday.
The fire appeared to be some distance away from SLC-3, and its effect on the planned launch attempt wasn’t immediately known.
Vandenberg is the third largest Air Force base in the United States, boasting more than 99,000 acres.
Noozhawk is a Santa Barbara-based news website. North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.
This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Crews battling brush fire at Vandenberg Air Force Base."