Deconstruction of WW2 blimp hangar in Tustin to begin

Efforts are underway to deconstruct the remains of a 17-story World War 2 blimp hangar at the Tustin Marine Base to suppress what's still burning.

In an update Sunday, the city of Irvine said deconstruction would take place "over the next 24 to 48 hours."

"Water trucks will be staged on the far side of the hangar with continuous water saturation toward the interior debris to further prevent dust dispersion during the process," the city added.

The intent of the latest effort is to put out remaining hot spots while stabilizing the hangar doors and leaving the concrete pillars to be dealt with later, according to a statement by the Incident Management Team.

RELATED: Tustin hangar fire: Blaze partially reignites, schools closed Monday

Monitoring was to be performed at 33 locations through the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. That would include dust monitors around the immediate perimeter and monitoring /sampling stations around the fence line and in the surrounding community providing real-time data, officials said.

Heavy equipment will remove debris and clear roadways so water trucks can access all areas of the hangar, officials said. Excavators will knock down what's left of the west-facing wall to enable access to heavy debris and deep seeding smoldering fires and remove hanging debris along both walls. Water trucks will put out hot spots and control dust.

The fire destroyed the iconic hangar in the early morning of Nov. 7.

RELATED: Fire rips through WWII-era blimp hangar at Marine Corps Air Station Tustin

Debris and ash from the fire showed the presence of asbestos, leading the AQMD to issue warnings about unhealthy air and urge residence to remain indoors with windows and doors closed.

The Tustin Unified School District cancelled classes for about a week and the Orange County Board of Supervisors issued an emergency proclamation.

The hangar and its twin are more than 1,000 feet long and 300 feet wide. They are listed on the national Register of Historic Places.

They have been featured in television and films, including "JAG," "The X-Files," "Austin Powers," "Pearl Harbor" and "Star Trek."