The ongoing risk of asbestos exposure from the burnt blimp hangar in Tustin is “virtually mitigated” after workers applied a dust-control product to the site, according to the city officials.
Over the weekend, workers completed one of the two final tasks to stabilize the site by applying a product called Gorilla-Snot, which is a liquid dust control and soil stabilizer, to “seal the hangar fire debris on the ground.” The other task will be the removal of the 120-foot tall hangar doors that remain standing, officials said.
The Orange County Fire Authority said on Friday, Dec. 1, the fire had been fully extinguished, 24 days after it ignited. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Cleanup efforts continue around Tustin to rid the city of dangerous debris emitted as the north hangar burned at the closed Marine Corps Air Station Tustin.
Cleanup crews are still going through public areas and inspecting and remediating homes that had ash and chunks of debris fall on them from the fire. Workers have combed through many of the streets surrounding the hangar, officials said.
Some residents testing material in their homes found that ash and debris from the fire contained asbestos. After weeks of waiting, residents have been getting their homes cleaned by city contractors. Sixty-three homes have been cleaned, according to the city’s latest incident update. Residents have made nearly 1,000 debris reports and the city’s contractors have cleaned up 460 of those.
Jeff Lawrence, a resident who lives near the hangar, said the city contractors came to clean his home on Nov. 25, but “it wasn’t holistic.” His home’s gutters and roofs weren’t cleaned, and he didn’t get any documentation, he said.
Lawrence is now going through his insurance to try and get his home fully inspected and cleaned. The city contractors hauled away some of his furniture that couldn’t be cleaned, he said.
Getting answers to questions and getting cleanup complete has been slow and frustrating for residents, Lawrence said.
“For residents that live here, we’re approaching a month (since the fire),” Lawrence said. “I don’t personally think that communication has gotten any better.”
Mayor Austin Lombard, who has typically been responding to questions about the city’s efforts, could not be reach for comment on Monday.
After the fire was put out, the city in a Dec. 1 news release called for “Navy accountability,” but gave no further comment. The U.S. Navy owns the hangars and has said it will support the cleanup beyond the initial $1 million provided to the city days after the fire started. Lumbard said in the city release that the city needs money from state and federal agencies.
The Navy is working on a remediation plan for the hangar site, according to an incident update.
Two city parks, both near the hangar, still remain closed. Two schools in the Tustin Unified School District won’t have students on campus until open fields are cleared of fire debris.
