Fire at Travis AFB burns 230 vacant homes

[unhappycamper]

Eight-alarm blaze
No occupied housing had to be evacuated


Fire at Travis AFB burns 230 vacant homes
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Aug 18, 2008 16:15:15 EDT

FAIRFIELD, Calif. — A Travis Air Force Base spokeswoman says a wind-fueled fire destroyed or damaged at least 230 vacant homes at the Fairfield facility, nearly three times as many as originally thought.

The eight-alarm fire started as a grass fire just outside the base at about 3 p.m. Saturday and quickly spread to a development that used to house enlisted personnel, according to Maj. Vanessa Hillman. The 190 homes and 40 duplexes burned in the fire were scheduled to be demolished anyway, Hillman says.

No occupied housing had to be evacuated, but residents were ordered to stay indoors with the windows closed to protect themselves from the smoke. Electricity had been restored to the base on Sunday, although some buildings still were without gas, Hillman says.

About 217 firefighters from the Air Force, the Fairfield Fire Department and three county departments were assigned to contain the blaze, which scorched 12.4 acres of the base. Travis Air Force Base is located about 38 miles southwest of Sacramento.


Article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/08/ap_travis_fire_081708/