Vandenberg Air Force Base, as anyone living in this county knows, is a 150-square-mile ecological marvel that is geographically divided into two distinct terrain and vegetation masses.
The southern part of the base is a mountainous region rising from sea level, which is dominated by Tranquillion Peak (2,100 feet), and it is covered with large beds of chaparral, bishop pines, tanbark oak, and Monterey cypress nestled on steep hillsides and in deep canyons. North of the Santa Ynez River estuary is a sand-dune- and arroyo-dominated land area covered with grasses, oaks, and willows.
Only two other Air Force bases in the continental U.S. consist of landmasses greater than Vandenberg (Eglin in the Florida Panhandle and Edwards in Northern Los Angeles County). Neither of these bases have similar terrain, flora, and fauna, so Vandenberg was left with a unique fire problem.
In December 1977, the fire department consisted of 175 firefighters located in seven fire stations that operated an aged fleet of fire equipment that was totally unsuited for wildland firefighting. Firefighter training protocols of the time were directed at aircraft and structural hazards, and although there had been many brush fires in the history of the base, no funding or training was provided to address the issue.
California had been baking in the sun all summer and autumn of 1977, much like it has in recent years. In an all too typical cycle, drought conditions had existed for five years and all that was needed was a spark in the tinder-dry brush.
Strong, gusty winds had developed on Dec. 19, 1977, throughout California, due to a stationary high pressure and an approaching low-pressure system some 600 miles off the coastline. Due to these extreme winds, a power line snapped about 7 a.m. on Dec. 20, igniting a brush fire on the southern portion of Vandenberg, and the Honda Canyon fire was born.
Honda Canyon is the largest and most significant canyon on Vandenberg. The area is incredibly stunning in its diversity. It is a steep, winding, brush-filled canyon that can still get a person lost and in trouble, even today.
Conditions faced by firefighters in 1977 were daunting. They worked to contain the fire in the rocky, steep mountainous terrain of south Vandenberg that was covered with extremely dense drought-stricken chaparral (estimated at 80 percent dead fuel) that hadn’t burned in more than 100 years. Wind speeds that morning were of Category 1 hurricane strengths with gusts in excess of 100 miles per hour on Tranquillion Peak.
These conditions had never been experienced by base firefighters and would have a tremendously adverse effect on fire suppression efforts.
At the most critical moments of the fire, the topography of Honda Canyon and its surrounding ridges prevented a direct line of sight to the main fire front. It was these physical factors along with human factors that put firefighters and the base command team downwind of the fire.
Dec. 20 marks the 42nd anniversary of the Honda Canyon fire, a devastating event on South Vandenberg that killed Base Commander Col. Joseph Turner, Vandenberg Fire Chief Billy Bell, Assistant Fire Chief Eugene Cooper, and base Heavy Equipment Operator Clarence McCauley who were tragically trapped in the early stages of the fire—65 others were injured.
Mutual aid in the form of 35 engines from Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties; a large contingent of U.S. Navy Seabees from Port Hueneme and Lompoc; and numerous U.S. Forest Service resources fought to contain the flames. After nearly 24 hours of having their tactics dictated by nature, aid came in the form of heavy soaking rains allowing for containment and the final extinguishing of the fire.
Air Force leaders asked: Could this fire happen again? Would the base be prepared to handle it?
Following this fire, a major effort was launched to prepare a base operations plan for this type of incident. Senior commanders were determined that if a fire like this occurred again, they would be prepared.
Training protocols were changed and firefighters at all levels were both sent to wildland fire academies, and the Vandenberg Hot Shots were organized and remain an integral part of the Vandenberg fire team today. Over the years, special fire equipment designed for this type of fire has been acquired.
When the Canyon Fire erupted on Sept. 18, 2016, the fuel beds in Honda Canyon had regrown and subsequently dried out.
From a firefighting standpoint, Vandenberg was now prepared to handle the situation in a much more organized fashion. The plans of 1978 were improved upon, and what could have been another catastrophic fire had a much different outcome.
The plan worked. Mutual aid resources were promptly summoned, and a command team consisting of Vandenberg, Santa Barbara County, CalFire, and U.S. Forest Service personnel was assembled and managed the fire for several days.
One firefighter was killed in a vehicle accident en route to the fire, and others were trapped on a ridgeline above Honda Canyon about a half-mile east of where four people were killed in 1977.
The lessons learned in 1977 paid off. Even though Vandenberg has a “one-of-a-kind” fire threat for the Air Force, strategic planners never wavered from the initial commitment to make sure the events of the Honda Canyon fire wouldn’t be repeated.
As far as the fire department goes, they have come a long way since 1977; they were awarded not only the “Best Fire Department in the Air Force” but also the “Best Fire Department in the Department of Defense” for 2018. They have won the best in the Air Force award seven times in the last 10 years!
This was one lesson that was learned and not forgotten.
Ron Fink writes from Lompoc. Send comments through the editor at clanham@santamariasun.com or write a letter for publication and email it to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 19-26, 2019.