<p>Initial cleanup efforts are underway in Tustin to rid from city streets and homes dangerous debris spewed out from the burning blimp hangar, as the stubborn fire continues to burn and emit smoke into the air.</p><p>”I don’t think anybody thought that the fire would still be burning six days later,” Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard said.</p><p>The northern World War II-era hangar at the decommissioned Tustin Marine Corps Air Station <a href=”https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/07/former-tustin-air-base-hangars-on-fire/”>caught fire Nov. 7</a>, spewing asbestos and other volatile organic compounds into the air. <a href=”https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/11/flare-up-seen-saturday-after-fire-at-massive-tustin-hangar/”>Two flare-ups over the weekend</a> have prolonged the fire and have prevented officials from getting on the site.</p><p>Lumbard said he expects more flare-ups to occur until the fire is extinguished. “I wouldn’t say we are out of the thick of it yet.”</p><p>Contractors in personal protective equipment were walking the streets surrounding the hangar on Monday, picking up hazardous debris. Valencia Avenue and Armstrong Avenue near the hangar have been closed to traffic.</p><p>A spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District said the agency on Sunday approved the city’s residential cleanup plan, giving the green light to allow workers to go onto people’s private property to clean up debris from the fire.</p><p></p><p>Residents are asked to call the city’s contractor Envirocheck at 714-937-0750 to request free removal of fire debris from their homes or businesses. Envirocheck will do an assessment of the debris, and another asbestos contractor, ATI Restoration, will come to do the removal if necessary. Get information on the city’s website on when to call for removal.</p><p>Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz said Monday the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Investigators are unable to get onto the site because the fire is still burning, he said.</p><p>Lumbard said OCFA is also not able to get fire crews close to the structure to fight the fire because of safety hazards. He added that a helicopter dropping water on the hangar, as OCFA did in an attempt to curtail the fire after it initially broke out, would have little, if any, benefit in putting out the flames.</p><p>”The way the structure is built, the water drops on the outside of the structure cannot necessarily penetrate to where the flames are,” Lumbard said. “It’s a lot of water being added to the fire, but not necessarily extinguishing the flames.”</p><p>Lumbard said the firefighters are analyzing ways to slow down or stop the burning, including possibly knocking down part of the structure. No plan has been set yet.</p><p>The Navy still owns the north hangar and its southern twin and 85 acres of the shuttered air station. Chris Dunne, a Navy spokesperson, said they were concerned by the weekend flare-ups.</p><p>”We’re in meetings now to determine what to do now that we have a change in plans,” he said.</p><p>The Navy and the city reached <a href=”https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/10/hangar-fire-tustin-to-get-1-million-from-navy-to-start-cleaning-up-neighborhoods/”>an agreement on Friday for the Navy to provide $1 million</a> to fund initial efforts to clean up city, school and community property and help secure the site.</p><p>”That’s not the end,” Dunne said. “We have to deal with the site itself. There will have to be more money.”</p><p>The hangar has steel-reinforced concrete walls and will need a large-scale cleanup, Dunne said. He said if the city doesn’t want to be the lead agency on the cleanup, the Navy will figure it out.</p><p>Lumbard said ultimately the Navy will be responsible for cleanup and mitigation, but the city will support their efforts.</p><p>The fire authority created an incident management team comprising officials from the OCFA, Orange County Environmental Health, AQMD and the city to coordinate cleanup activities and implement offsite air quality modeling and surveys of asbestos-containing material contamination.</p><p>Michael Brogan, a spokesperson for the Environmental Protection Agency, said the agency is conducting perimeter air monitoring and will be advising the incident team.</p><p>”EPA is expanding the existing air monitoring network around the fire site and in the community and will maintain four monitoring stations with daily air sampling until the city can develop a more comprehensive air assessment program,” Brogan said in an email.</p><p>Brogan said the EPA has not established any perimeter or given any direction to limit OCFA’s operation.</p><p></p><aside class=”related right”><h2 class=”widget-title”>Related links</h2><ul><li><a href=”https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/09/what-happens-next-with-the-burned-out-tustin-blimp-hangar/”>What happens next with the burned-out Tustin blimp hangar?</a></li><li><a href=”https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/09/tustin-public-schools-to-close-thursday-due-to-smoke-from-hangar-fire/”>Asbestos from Tustin hangar fire triggers health warnings, closures</a></li><li><a href=”https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/08/tustin-hangar-was-largest-surviving-artifact-of-marine-aviation-and-a-landmark-for-oc/”>Tustin hangar was largest surviving artifact of Marine aviation and a landmark for OC</a></li></ul></aside><p></p><p>The OC Board of Supervisors on Tuesday ratified a county emergency proclamation and requested President Joe Biden issue a Presidential Declaration of Emergency and make funds available. Tustin was also declared a local emergency. Such declarations help agencies move quicker to hire contractors and potentially access more funding to help efforts.</p><p>Tustin Unified School District also hired Envirocheck to inspect and clear campuses for reopening. Tustin Unified Superintendent Mark Johnson said in a statement that once a campus is cleared, the schools will be cleaned before students return.</p><p>As of Monday afternoon, 12 campuses had been cleared. All cleared schools will have students back on campus on Tuesday. Parents can monitor the school district website for updates. The city’s website is also offering updates and information for residents who need debris cleaned up.</p><p>Lumbard acknowledged Monday that residents remain anxious to get through the hangar fire.</p><p>”Six days later, I think a lot of residents are really frustrated,” he said. “Rightfully so.”</p><p><em>Staff Writer Erika Ritchie contributed to this report.</em></p>
Source: Orange County Register
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