Fire destroys one of the two largest wood structures in the world... 3

[SnTMan]

JRB, TigerGuy, never underestimate plain old homegrown crazy

The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand

 

[TugboatEng]

While others mourn the loss, I'm often more amazed that buildings survived so long,

It's funny listening to the demonization of plastic when wood and paper persist longer in the environment. The papyrus scrolls are still legible.

 

[dik]

It might depend on the environment. I've heard that aluminum beer cans will outlast the pyramids... just dunno...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[hokie66]

It depends on the species of wood as to how long it lasts exposed to moisture, solar, and insect attack. But in general, not a fraction of the time most plastics last

 

[JohnRBaker]

Here are some more photos, taken earlier today, of the burned-out blimp hanger.

Here's an overall shot showing the current condition of the building. As I've already commented, it's strange how the eastern side of the building collapsed completely, while most of the western side of the building is totally intact:

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

Here another angle showing the burned-out building:

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

And while I was taking pictures, this group of Haxmat trucks entered the site and drove around the building and parked on the other side:

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

The next few pictures show in more detail the structure of the building, both the foundation on the eastern side and what remains of the structure on the western side:

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

And another overall shot which better shows what was destroyed versus what survived:

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[IRstuff]

At least the doors are intact; those were always impressive, given their height.

There is a row of offices along the bottoms of each side, so it's possible that if the electrical system was still active that something shorted out and started the fire. Barring that, random arson would be the next most likely cause.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[1503-44]

Norway has a number of old churches, most of which were built over a thousand years ago. 800 to 1200 AD. There was one that looked particularly interesting, but a bit away from my travel route. Decided to make the diversion and visit. After almost a full day of getting there (no GPS back then), we finally rounded the bend and found an open empty meadow. The church had burned down the month before. Quite the disappointment that was.

Norway typical wooden stave church (obviously not the one I wanted to see).

--Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."

 

[Pud]

It's made the UK news:

California WW2-era blimp hanger engulfed in flames -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67359653

Politicians like to panic, they need activity. It is their substitute for achievement.

 

[Jordonlaw]

This was a historical hanger for aeromodellers like me with many world records set, some in very recent years,inside it's volume. There are few available hangers for high ceiling flying and this one was highly prized due to it's benign conditions.

CHE

 

[JohnRBaker]

Actually, I suspect that it was the other hanger, Hanger #2, which is still standing, was where the aeromodellers were allowed to perform. The building that burned, Hanger #1, was the one that was in the poorest condition, with parts of the roof having already collapsed and a large number of the windows having been broken or simply falling out of their frames. From the reports, the damaged building had not been used for anything in years and was all but abandoned, while the other building had been used as a film set for movies and TV adverts and other events. You could even get, by prior reservation only, limited tours of the building.

The irony is that when the they first closed the base in 1999, there was a proposal to create a museum dedicated to the Navy and Marine Corps that had used the base from it's inception in 1942 until 1999. And with that in mind, they decide to not tear down the various buildings around Hanger #1, including the iconic control tower, as seen in the shots below:

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

As for the area around Hanger #2, the one that's still standing and which turned out to be in the best condition, the city has allowed developers to build right up to the building, as seen in this shot from Google Earth:

Where as around Hanger #1, the one that burned, they had preserved the area, including the old military buildings and a large segment of the concrete 'apron', again, as seen in this view from Google Earth:

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[JohnRBaker]

And as for those Hazmat vehicles that I saw yesterday, there's reports now that they're warning people to stay away as they've found high levels of asbestos and lead in the debris blown around the area during the fire and as well as the area immediately adjacent to the building.

As you can see in these pictures, taken while the building was still burning, a large amount of debris was being blown into the air, and downwind from the fire was a large group of apartment buildings:

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

November 2023 (Sony a6500, 18-135mm)

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[JohnRBaker]

As a precaution, the Tustin school board has closed all the schools in the district as a result of the reports of the hazardous debris being found after the blimp hanger fire:

Important Message for TUSD Families regarding School Closure

https://www.tustin.k12.ca.us/about-...ge-for-tusd-families-regarding-school-closure

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[CWB1]

It's funny listening to the demonization of plastic when wood and paper persist longer in the environment. The papyrus scrolls are still legible.

I know farms with century+ buried wooden drain-tile that's still solid and functional. Meanwhile plastic packaging and water bottles decompose within three years.

My previous comment wasn't about materials tho. I'm surprised we allow massive buildings with no practical secondary use and massive maintenance costs to remain standing so long. It seems they all eventually either end up gifted or seized by local govt with the taxpayers paying for removal.

 

[3DDave]

Plastic packaging and water bottles disintegrate sometimes, but the plastic molecules remain molecules and the sometimes toxic plastisizers remain toxic. Wood is mainly a starch form of sugar - cellulose - that is converted to CO2 and H2O by bacteria and fungi. If kept in a particular environment wood can last a long time, but most plastic products will exist far longer than most wood products.

 

[TugboatEng]

John, take a look at that yellow smoke in your pictures. Guess what has a yellow oxide? Lead monoxide.

 

[JohnRBaker]

With respect to the wooden structure of the building, they used California Redwood, which is resistant to termites and other wood-destructive critters.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

1942 paint and pipe lagging ... no wonder hazmat are involved.

 

[Jordonlaw]

JohnRBaker (Mechanical)(OP)10 Nov 23 17:21
Actually, I suspect that it was the other hanger, Hanger #2, which is still standing, was where the aeromodellers were allowed to perform.


Your suspicions are incorrect.

CHE

 

[JohnRBaker]

How long ago was that? From what I understand, due to the roof problems in Hanger #1, it had not been used for anything other than perhaps storage of equipment and such, for the last 10 years or so. To verify this I used Google Earth's 'Historical Imagery' tool to see that sections of the roof started to fail sometime between April 2013 and December 2013, as seen in the side-by-side images below:

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[dik]

actually thousands of years... It cannot be neglected...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik