Fire tears through historic WWII blimp hangar in Southern California

Firefighters battled a blaze early Tuesday at a massive blimp hangar in Southern California that was built during World War II and was later featured in films and television shows.

The three-alarm fire erupted around 1 a.m. inside the north hangar of the mostly wooden structure at the former Marine Corps Air Station Tustin. Fire officials shared photos and video of flames raging inside the gutted structure.

Despite battling the blaze for hours, the Orange County Fire Authority said that the only way to fight the fire was to allow the structure to collapse.

"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," the agency said.

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The massive hangar stands 17 stories high and is more than 1,000 feet long and 300 feet wide. It was one of two built in 1942 for the U.S. Navy in the city of Tustin, about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

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The Navy installation became a Marine Corps air station in the 1950s and closed in 1999.

The hangars have been featured in Hollywood films and TV shows including "JAG," "The X Files," and "Pearl Harbor," along with commercials, according to FOX11 Los Angeles.

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It was unclear how the fire started.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.