SUMMARY
Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), headquarters for the 30th Space Wing manages the Department of Defense space and missile testing, and places satellites into polar orbit. On September 17, 2016, the Canyon Fire sparked on its South Base, quickly and aggressively becoming the largest natural disaster in VAFB history, resulting in damage to more than 12,500 acres. It was the largest of at least five Vandenberg fires within one week, where at least two of which were blamed on downed power lines.1,2 StressCrete spun concrete poles that were installed during earlier system hardening efforts survived the onslaught of flames due to their fire resistant qualities.
Download Case Study (PDF)PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Location: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Santa Barbara County, California
Dates: September 17 – 24, 2016
Burn Area: 12,518 acres Emergency Response Team: 1,142 fire fighters from over 50 agencies, 100 fire engines and 20 aircraft
Infrastructure Damage: 1,600 facitilites with lost power, 200 power poles, 16 miles of power lines, 95 miles of communiation cables and 450 ft of water pipelines4
SPUN CONCRETE UTILITY POLES SURVIVE FLAMES OF THE LARGEST FIRE IN VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE HISTORY
SYSTEM HARDENING WITH FIRE PROTECTION
Decreasing the number of outages, decreasing restoration time, limiting the amount of damage to the system, protecting the most valuable and hard-to-replace assets, and keeping service on for critical infrastructure are common objectives of system hardening initiatives.5 The most common hardening practice for electric transmission and distribution systems is upgrading poles and structures with stronger materials.6 With VAFB’s system hardening initiatives, one practice they implemented was to upgrade some of their power poles from wood to spun concrete. Over the course of two years, they installed 181 StressCrete spun concrete poles to improve their system, having a number of hardening benefits including fire protection, should a natural disaster such as a wildfire occur on the base.
THE CANYON FIRE
The Canyon Fire was a devastatingly aggressive fire that spread very quickly, damaging over 12,500 acres. “Wooden power poles were burned by the blaze, with electrical and communication hanging down. Collapsed guardrails rest along the sides of Arguello Road, victim to the fast-moving flames. Nearby, newly installed concrete power poles, added in the spring, survived the onslaught of flames.” indicated Lt. Col. Alex Mignery from the 30th Civil Engineer Squadron who is the designated Recovery Operations Chief.7 A nine-phase recovery plan was implemented with full recovery from the damage taking up to two years.
Download Case Study (PDF)Nearby, newly installed concrete power poles, added in the spring, survived the onslaught of flames.
Lt. Col. Alex Mignery, 30th Civil Engineer Squadron
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