European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 16, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday october 16, 1985 the stars and stripes s Nolos by Dave i Jose Borges scares operates a truck fueling a plane Tony Bairos works in the warehouse Center and Maciel Ito Rhu a Ila adjusts tacs at cinder pits pump storage station. La is Supply unit wins honors for a Tough Job by j. King  Slaff writer Lajes fill a ores it makes no difference where you Start this base Joes seem to be at the end of the Supply pipeline. Lajos is on one of the azores islands roughly 2,000 Miles from the East coast of the United Stales and h50 Miles West of Lis Bon Portugal. All supplies so 29,000 items plus millions of Gallons of Luel must travel a Long Way to get Here. Yet even the disadvantage of being at the end of the pipeline did not keep the air Force s 1605th Supply so from being named last year As the military Airlift come s Best Supply Squadron in a non flying category a winning the Supply  award. The Squadron commanded by . Col.  m. Chorale or. Delivers just about everything except food this base needs. We Are at the end of the pipeline and we have to rely on ships to bring in our supplies said chief master sgt. Paul i7. Talbot the no Inch Irge of the unit.  than 5 percent of our supplies come in by air. It s very difficult for us to get parts from the Stales and there is very Little that we can Purchase locally. We be even had to Fly in Coal hangars to Supply the dry cleaning shop because we could t find any to buy  the Supply Squadron has a staff of 220 90 of them military. Chorale credits his experienced portuguese work Force with provid ing the knowledge and continuity that help his outfit get the Job done. The Squadron has an inventory Worth 59.6 million at any Given time and it All passes through the unit s warehouses. Inventory accuracy through the whole warehouse is a run nil is percent Choate said. We have Good workers and they Don t Sical. The portuguese Are very  Praise for local employees is also echoed at the squadrons fuels manage ment Branch. The fuels operation at Lajes is one of the largest in the air Force Choate said with storage capacity of nearly 55 million Gallons three tank farms spread Over is Miles and two underground hydrant systems capable of dispensing nearly 6 million Gallons of up 4 Jet fuel a Day. The Branch maintains five kinds of fuel. It daily dispenses 86.000 Gallons of Jp-4 and 12looogallonsof other fuels. Most of the fuel is shipped from the states. A Tanker arrives at the Harbor at nearby Praia a Vitoria about once every three weeks. A typical Tanker May off Load More than 4 million Gallons during a two Day port Call. The fuel is pumped from the Harbor s pier head to the Branch s near South tank farm. From there it is distributed often to other Lank farms several Miles away. In the fuels Branch 66 of the s4 workers Are Puri Guese. Our portuguese employees have been working Here for Many Many years said 1st . Paul i. Bunker of the fuels Branch. You d never get this kind of experience level at a base in the  the facility also provides fuel for the portuguese air Force operation at  Field and to transiting aircraft from other countries and stores All fuel usal by the commercial airliners thai operate from the civilian Side of the runway at Lajes Field. Dozen blazes rage across Southern California los Angeles a Al least a dozen fires fanned by winds blowing out of the mountains raged across Southern California charring at least 8.000 acres and 10 houses forcing evacuations of 2,400 people and killing a Man who tried to save his Home authorities say. One thousand firefighters from Ventura county in the West to san Bernardino county in the cast battled the fast moving  fires burned at least 5,600 acres near Malibu 40 Miles West of downtown los Angeles one of them racing Down Brush covered Hills to the sea and forcing about 400 residents and 2,000 students at i Epp Erdinc University to flee. The Stu dents were allowed to return to the Campus which overlooks the Pacific Ocean about four hours later said Mike Adam a school spokesman. There Are a lot of moving vans on the Highway said Kathy Brown at her Malibu really co. Office. You usually Sec moving vans and horse trailers in the area when there is a flames were fanned by hot dry Santa Ana winds heated Over the Mojave desert and pushed through Mountain passes into populous areas by a High pressure Ridge Over the South Western states. National weather service meteorologist Peter Vilensky said the winds were dying Down a Little bit monday afternoon but said advisories were expected to remain in effect throughout the night. Residents along the Pacific coast Highway jammed with traffic from sightseers cheered helicopters that came in Low to drop loads of water on the leaping flames. Thirty people were being sheltered at an american red Cross evacuation Center. Red Cross spokesman Merman key said. The possibility of arson was under investigation in Mahou los Angeles county fire Cape. Gordon Pearson said. Flames threaten Homes in the Decker Canyon area of Malibu calif.,ii Miles from downtown los Angeles. In the 3,500-acre Decker Canyon fire near Malibu four Homes and a garage were destroyed Pearson said. Five Homes on the Pacific coast Highway were severely damaged along with a Nursery called Cosintino she said. A fire near Piuma consumed 2.000 acres and prompted about 400 people to flee 150 multimillion Dollar Homes. Los Angeles county sheriffs Deputy Dave Hogan said. None of the Homes burned. The i Puma fire threatened but did not damage the Hughes research Laboratory which contained a $60 million satellite on Malibu Canyon Road Pearson said. Another fire in the area crackled across at least 150 acres. Two air tankers had to be recalled from the fight against a Blaze near mount Baldy. High in the san Gabriel mountains Northeast of los , because of the wind. . Forest service spokesman Bob Swinford said. The 80-acre fire was contained later. In Ventura county s Wheeler Canyon. 60 Miles Northwest of los Angeles and a few Miles from Ojai. Six structures were destroyed said county fire spokeswoman Bobbie Barker. The area had been charred in july by a fire that scorched 118,000 acres. Barker said she did not know How Many acres had been burned monday or what t be of structures had burned. At Box Canyon. 30 Miles Northwest of los Angeles. 59 year old Johannis Leembruggen suffered a fatal heart attack while helping firefighters save his Home. Poison said. The 600 acre fire burned at least one Home residents said. Looks like something out of a War  said resident Susan Walker As she looked past a Hilltop Home As three helicopters dropped fire retardant. Another  arson Blae erupted Lite monday on a Hill in Montecito Heights four Miles Northeast of downtown los Angeles destroying a Home a trailer four Sheds and blackening 20 acres before it was extinguished