Firefighters responded to a blaze at the historic hangars in Tustin early Tuesday morning.
Orange County Fire Authority responded to the fire around 1:30 a.m.
Around 6:30 a.m., officials wrote on X they were going to let the structure collapse.
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“Due to the dynamic nature of the fire, and the imminent danger of collapse, we have determined the most operationally sound method is to allow the structure to collapse, at which point ground crews can move in closer, and aggressively work to extinguish the fire,” fire officials said.
Captain Thanh Nguyen told L.A.'s Morning News that the decision was made based on the “dynamic nature of the fire.”
“Initially we went in [and] we tried to get as close as possible without compromising the safety of our firefighters,” he said. “And you know, just because of the sheer volume of fire that's in the structure and the constant collapse of the structure, we decided that operationally it was the best thing to do is to pull back.”
He added that firefighters will address the cause of the fire “as soon as they can engage” with the fire.
Captain Nguyen also said firefighters are monitoring surrounding areas to make sure there are no embers in the area, and encouraged those who live in the area and smell the smoke to close their windows.
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