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The remains of a hangar at the shuttered Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, seen here on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, have been cleaned up in Tustin, CA. A fire that started in the early hours of November 7, 2023 destroyed the structure. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
By Mona Darwish | mdarwish@scng.com PUBLISHED: October 8, 2025 at 6:56 AM PDT
Nearly two years after a blaze destroyed one of Tustin’s two iconic blimp hangars, spreading ash and contaminated debris across more than six miles of schools, neighborhoods and businesses — city and federal officials say the cleanup is finally complete — and the focus can return to future development.
Investigators have not been able to determine the cause behind the 2023 north hangar fire, which began shortly after midnight on that Nov. 7. Within a few hours, conditions became too dangerous for firefighters to enter the 80-year-old cavernous structure without risk of injury, and personnel were left to watch as the wooden hangar went up in flames.
Firefighters work to control a blaze at the north blimp hangar at the former Marine Corps Air Station Tustin in Tustin, CA, on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Built in 1942 to house blimps patrolling the West Coast during World War II, the hangar and its southern twin were landmarks of the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, which shuttered in 1999.
Given the era when the hangar was built and its uses over the years, the blaze prompted an environmental cleanup, first in the surrounding neighborhoods and then at the hangar pad, where a product called Gorilla-Snot®, a liquid dust control and soil stabilizer, was used to encase the debris until it could be removed.
Officials said the Navy finished debris and hazardous waste removal from the north hangar footprint this summer, work that took about a year, and now regulators are looking at final reports to sign off on ending the local state of emergency that was declared in 2023.
Several regulatory agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Orange County Health Care Agency and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, are part of that decision.
Emergency cleanup in the area was led by the city of Tustin on behalf of the Navy, which owns the property. The Navy hired its own contractor to clear the hangar pad.
Ultimately, the city fronted more than $105 million in response and cleanup costs. So far, officials said the city has invoiced the Navy and other federal agencies for about $104.5 million. Tustin spokesperson Stephanie Najera said the Navy had paid the city roughly $79.4 million as of Sept. 16.
The north hangar’s remaining “ribs,” along with four large concrete towers, were left in place until it is decided what to do with the property, Najera said. The last sign of the structure that once stood.
Now local stakeholders are turning their attention to what comes next as redevelopment discussions build steam.
At the heart of the discussions is planning for the completion of Tustin Legacy, considered one of the city’s most significant mixed-use development projects, encompassing roughly 1,600 acres of the former base with more than 4,200 homes already built, as well as shopping centers, schools, government facilities and 95 acres of public parks.
With about 500 acres still undeveloped and the fire largely behind them, Tustin officials have said the community is at a critical juncture in deciding how to proceed with the final phases of Tustin Legacy’s development. To gather community input, the city has hosted open houses in recent months, surveys, tours of the area and more.
“These are the largest contiguous parcels of land in the Lower 48 that have been available for redevelopment in communities in the last century,” Tustin’s special legal counsel George Schlossberg said at an Aug. 19 meeting. He has been involved with redevelopment planning efforts since the start of the former military base’s closure. “The land itself, located where it is, it’s a tremendous opportunity. It’s a tremendous opportunity, it’s a uniquely valuable asset.”
As the community envisions how to build out Tustin Legacy – there are about 500 acres still undeveloped – Mayor Austin Lombardi warned at a recent meeting that while there’s a lot of property left to be developed, not all of it belongs to the city.
“It’s very complicated. The city doesn’t have title to a lot of it yet,” he said, adding that part of the land is still owned by the Navy, including the two hangar sites.
The property is licensed to the city of Tustin, as the local reuse authority, which serves as the point of contact between the Department of Defense, local stakeholders and the community. As part of that role, Tustin must develop and adopt a reuse plan for the Navy to act on.
“The city of Tustin is thoughtfully updating an existing reuse plan that will guide the future of the Tustin Legacy property, including the potential transfer of land from the Navy,” Najera said. “While the overall vision is still evolving, the city is committed to a transparent and inclusive process. Community members have played an active role by attending events, completing surveys and participating in public meetings to share their perspectives.”
Though the fire has decided the question of what to do with the north hangar, the decision remains whether to preserve or remove the south hangar. City officials have said its future “hinges on how much the city and community are willing to invest in its preservation.” An evaluation of long-term operations and maintenance costs is underway.
The city recently spent more than $1.4 million to construct a vinyl fence around the hangar to improve security. A community meeting around development updates will be scheduled sometime this fall, officials said.
