Damage Unknown in Fire on Navy Island
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A 20-acre brush fire on the Navy-owned San Nicolas Island was fully extinguished Friday, but the scope of damage to the island is not yet known, officials said.
The fire broke out about 2:15 p.m. Thursday when hot metal fragments fell on dry grass during the launching of a rocket that was to be used as a target for missiles, said Marge Hays, a spokeswoman for Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station. The metal fragments came off a fuel cell being used to launch the rocket.
The fire scorched a canyon on the western end of the island near a launch site. An airstrip and buildings on the island’s northeast side were not damaged.
The fire was extinguished by military personnel already on the island and firefighters who were airlifted there.
Specialists from Point Mugu will go to the island early next week to check for damage to the island’s plant and wildlife and to several archeology sites under study, Hays said.
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