On the morning of Dec. 20, 1977, high winds reportedly caused a power line pole to snap, igniting the dense chaparral in a canyon on the southern portion of Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc.
According to information from base officials, firefighters responding to the incident attempted numerous tactics to suppress the flames. While many of these tactics might have proved effective on an average brush fire, the volatile conditions of the Honda Ridge fire caused things to get out of control.
The large blaze not only claimed 9,040 acres, but also the lives of Vandenberg Installation Commander Col. Joseph Turner, Fire Chief Billy Bell, Assistant Fire Chief Eugene Cooper, and heavy equipment operator Clarence McCauley.
Members of the current Vandenberg Fire Department and senior base officials met late last month to honor the memory of those who perished in the Honda Ridge Fire 36 years ago.
“The winds gusted to exceed 100 miles per hour,” Vandenberg Hot Shots superintendent Jesse Hendricks said in a statement to the press.
Hendricks said the fire was pushed through drought-stricken chaparral at abnormally high speeds, rapidly moving through Honda Canyon to the west before heading north along Vandenberg’s coast.
“Firefighters continued to alter suppression efforts to meet the dynamic challenges brought on by the raging fire,” he said, adding that fires on the base usually burn low frequency but high-intensity.
More than half of the base’s 91,000 acres are dense with plants and wildlife.
The group paused for a moment of silence in remembrance of those who died, at 9:36 a.m. on Dec. 20, 2013—the same time Fire Chief Bell sent his last transmission on Dec. 20, 1977, to say he was trapped.
“The lessons that were learned were hard paid,” Vandenberg Fire Department Chief Clem Marrero said in a press release. “The atmosphere that we have now with an emphasis on training and top-notch equipment is due in part to that fire. The takeaway is to not forget what happened before us and carry those lessons forward.”
Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander, added, “We don’t know where and when the next base wildfire will be. It likely will not be on this spot, in this canyon, or with that kind of fire, but a positive takeaway from this tragic fire is all the lives that have been saved and will be saved since 1977.
“The Hot Shot program was birthed from this tragedy; policies and procedures changed,” Balts said. “We also adapted our training programs and resources to prepare in case of future incidents.”
This article appears in Jan 2-9, 2014.