"The fire department said “hazardous materials and radiological monitoring teams” continue to track the health of the air in the Ventura County area."
"With a Southern California wildfire only growing in size, firefighters in Ventura County have increased response efforts near a former nuclear reactor and rocket testing site.
The Sandy Fire’s roughly quarter-of-a-mile proximity to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, or SSFL, prompted at least one family to evacuate when the blaze began Monday.
Nuclear research ended at the site in 1988 and rocket testing stopped in 2006. The defunct, 2,800-acre federal research complex—once jointly occupied by NASA, the Department of Energy and Boeing—still has radioactive and chemical contamination. Boeing has owned the site since 1996.
Amid the fire, which swelled to over 2,100 acres, and was 40 percent contained as of Friday afternoon, the Ventura County Fire Department said that “hazardous materials and radiological monitoring teams” continue to track air quality."
Steven Rodas and Nina Dietz report for Inside Climate News May 22, 2026.
