Wildfire on Vandenberg Air Force Base burns hundreds of acres

The fire started Friday morning, November 25

Ensalados Fire Vandenberg Air Force Base

Above: Air Tanker 103, an MD-87, drops on a wildfire on Vandenberg Air Force Base November 24, 2017. Photo by Vandenberg Fire Department.

(Originally published at 9:08 a.m. PST November 25, 2017)

A wildfire that was reported at about 9:30 a.m. Friday burned 380 acres on Vandenberg Air Force base in Southern California before the spread was stopped six hour later. Personnel in the area were evacuated and there were no reports of damaged structures. Firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and Santa Barbara County assisted the Vandenberg Fire Department in attacking the blaze.

map Ensalados Fire Vandenberg Air Force Base
Map showing the approximate location of a fire on Vandenberg Air Force Base. The heat sources were detected by a satellite at 1:31 p.m. PST November 24, 2017. Map by Wildfire Today and NASA.

There was confusion about the name of the fire — it has been called Ensalada, Encelada, and Encelados, but it burned adjacent to Ensaladus Road. Information sources that usually provide reliable information on wildfires, such as InciWeb and the Southern California Coordination Center, did not provide information on their public websites, but the 30th Space Wing referred to it as “Encelados Fire”

Photo by Vandenberg Fire Department.
Ensalados Fire Vandenberg Air Force Base
Photo by Vandenberg Fire Department.
Ensalados Fire Vandenberg Air Force Base
Photo by Vandenberg Fire Department.

Check out the photo on the right below.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.