Wildfire At California Air Force Base Explodes In Size, Delays Satellite Launch
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE (CBS/AP) -- A wildfire at a central California Air Force base that forced the postponement of a weekend satellite launch has exploded in size and continues to burn out of control.
The blaze at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc has doubled in size overnight to more than 7 square miles, with no containment.
There is no word of any structures threatened on the sprawling base, much of which is undeveloped and rugged mountain land.
Nearly 800 firefighters were deployed to corral the fire when it broke out Sunday in a remote canyon. The cause is under investigation.
Col. Paul Nosek said on the base's Facebook page that the fire didn't threaten the space launch complex. But he said the blaze required firefighters to be redeployed from standing by at the launch of the imaging satellite.
The rocket scheduled for launch Sunday carried the WorldView-4, "a commercial satellite that snaps high-resolution images of Earth," contractor United Launch Alliance told the Los Angeles Times.
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