Early Tuesday, a fire destroyed a historic World War II-era hangar at the former Tustin Air Base, which was an important part of Orange County's military heritage.
At about 1:30 a.m., the fire was reported near Valencia Avenue and Armstrong Road, where flames were shooting through the roof of the towering wooden hangar. Due to the threat of collapse, parts of the roof dropped to the ground, and firefighters took up positions outside the hanger, which is normally unoccupied.
The fire department sent in a helicopter to help fight the fire, which fire officials said was unprecedented. Chinook helicopters are employed in wildfire suppression.
There were no immediate details on the cause. There were no reported injuries.
"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 wrote on its Twitter account.
The fire is in hangars that originally held World War II blimps. They are 17 floors tall, more than 1,000 feet long, and 300 feet broad. According to the website Tustin Hangars, these were and still are two of the largest wooden buildings ever built.
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