A combination of hurricane-force winds and electric poles start the Honda Canyon Fire on Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. In the course of events following the morning of December 20, 1977, a conflict of cultures emerged. Military commanders, fearful of the Base’s cold war secrets being compromised, attempted to control the protocols and procedures of the civilian firefighters. Four fatalities and sixty-five injuries result. Almost ten thousand acres burn, resulting in significant damage to the military installation infrastructure.