The wildfire that has burned more than 12,000 acres at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., was 70 percent contained as of Thursday morning, the 30th Space Wing announced. Specialized teams are now re-entering south base to assess the damage, according to a release. More than 1,000 firefighters from the USAF and more than 50 other agencies have been battling the fire since it began in a remote canyon on south base on Sept. 17, according to base releases. An Atlas V launch scheduled for Sept. 18 was delayed so the base’s resources could be focused on fighting the fire, according to another release. High winds are forecasted for the area, but firefighters are confident they will continue to make good progress as they continue constructing containment lines and eliminating hot spots, according to Thursday’s announcement.
As the Air Force readied for its June 21-22 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the service was also putting its Agile Combat Employment strategy into action, dispersing combat aircraft and Airmen from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in preparation for a possible Iranian retaliatory attack. Some defense experts say…
