The Marine Corps has identified two active-duty service members based out of Camp Pendleton who were killed in a vehicle accident Tuesday while deployed to the southern U.S both Marine combat engineers and from California were killed during a convoy near Santa Teresa according to a news release from their unit was in critical condition as of Thursday evening His identity was not released in the statement Read Next: Army to Soldiers: Reenlist by Monday if You Want to Claim Incentives All three Marines were transported to a hospital in El Paso which is located just miles away from where they crashed across the New Mexico state border Aguilera and Gamino were pronounced dead at the hospital The statement said they were on a "convoy movement" near Santa Teresa though it was unclear where they were going or the specific purpose of the convoy The three Marines were assigned to 1st Marine Division which sent an initial batch of 500 Marines to the southern border near San Diego Gamino is deeply felt by all of us," said Lt the commanding officer of 1st Combat Engineer Battalion and Task Force Sapper a unit composed of roughly 500 Marines and sailors charged with reinforcing the barrier wall near San Diego "I extend my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of our fallen brothers," his statement continued "Our top priority right now is to ensure that their families are fully supported during this difficult time." A defense official previously told Military.com that the Marines were operating a civilian rental vehicle, a common mode of transportation during active-duty operations at the border. The Washington Post reported that the incident involved their vehicle rolling over The Marines were part of a contingent of thousands of active-duty troops deployed to various parts of the U.S southern border amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration "I am very saddened to learn of the tragic accident yesterday that took the lives of two of our nation's heroes and seriously injured another," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media Wednesday "My heartfelt condolences and prayers are with them Army units sent to the border are operating in tactical vehicles, specifically Strykers eight-wheeled armored personnel carriers meant primarily to transport soldiers to and from their missions as they patrol the border Aguilera enlisted into the Marine Corps in March 2023 according to the news release from 1st Marine Division He was promoted to lance corporal last spring Gamino enlisted in 2022 and had deployed to Darwin with Marine Rotational Force-Darwin in 2024 Related: Vehicle Incident at Border Kills 2 Marines, Injures Another; Investigation Underway The parade didn't begin until Alan Kennett Hegseth argued that senior leaders should be "unencumbered by unnecessary bureaucratic layers that.. Zachary Sessa launched his F-35C Lightning II's payload at Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen last year.. said the service has already signed up and enlisted 74% of the people it set for its.. a former Fox News host and National Guardsman has attempted to reframe the role of the.. It's time to get back in step with the veteran community -- not with fanfare If you want to ace a timed run over the 1.5- to three-mile distances used in most military running tests The review follows changes over the last three years that expanded waivers for 51 conditions Juan Gabriel Orona-Rodriguez is charged with one count each of distribution and possession with intent to.. The White House has backed off President Donald Trump’s stunning social media proposal to change the name of Veterans Day to.. The commander of the 12th Aviation Battalion directed the unit to pause helicopter flight operations around Ronald Reagan.. Visit our Customer Support center for solutions or to contact us A U.S. Marine from California was identified by military officials Sunday as one of four people killed when a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines died Thursday in the crash of an aircraft that was conducting a routine mission “providing intelligence and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,” officials at Camp Pendleton Officials said the cause of the crash was under investigation Three defense contractors also were killed in the crash The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines confirmed the crash of a light plane in Maguindanao del Sur province The bodies of the four people were retrieved from the wreckage in Ampatuan town forces have been deployed in a Philippine military camp in the country’s south for decades to help provide training and advice to Filipino forces battling Muslim militants The region is home to minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic nation told The Associated Press on Thursday that she received reports that residents saw smoke coming from the plane and heard an explosion before the aircraft plummeted to the ground less than a kilometer (about half a mile) from a cluster of farmhouses Durham was trained as an electronic intelligence/electromagnetic warfare analyst assigned to 1st Radio Battalion I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group He joined the Marines in January 2021 and was promoted to his current rank on Feb Durham's awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal Durham embodied the highest traditions of the Marine Corps — exemplifying composure “He was deeply respected and loved by his fellow Marines.” SAN DIEGO – Four Marines were killed Wednesday morning during a range maintenance operation at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Installations West — Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton “We offer our heartfelt prayers and condolences to the families of the Marines lost today in this tragic accident,” Bullard said “Our first priority is to provide the families with the support they need during this difficult time.” The identities of the Marines are being withheld pending notification of next of kin “Range maintenance is a regularly scheduled maintenance of our range to ensure safe use and to recover any obstructions to training,” base spokesman Cpl “That could be anything from cutting the grass “The accident took place in our Zulu impact area designed for artillery and bombs dropped from airplanes,” he said adding this specific incident is still under investigation This is the second time in two months that a Marine has been killed on a Southern California Marine Corps base a Marine died and four others were hurt during a training accident at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms was killed during an Integrated Training Exercise at the base the Corps’ largest West Coast expeditionary training facility encompasses more than 125,000 acres of Southern California terrain Located approximately 38 miles from downtown San Diego in north San Diego County and 82 miles south of Los Angeles Camp Pendleton has been the largest employer in North County for more than 60 years The base is home to the I Marine Expeditionary Force 1st Marine Logistics Group and many supporting units (KGTV) – A crash involving several vehicles on Interstate 5 near Camp Pendleton left at least three men dead and forced the closure of a stretch of the freeway early Thursday morning The crash on southbound I-5 at Las Pulgas Road occurred at around 3 a.m. with the California Highway Patrol reporting numerous motorcycles involved in the incident CHP officials said a Jeep -- for reasons unknown -- crashed into the left shoulder guardrail An oncoming Mercedes-Benz van struck the disabled Jeep a group of four oncoming motorcycles collided with the van and Jeep three of the motorcyclists were pronounced dead at the scene while the fourth was taken to the hospital Navy spokesman Brian O'Rourke confirmed to ABC 10News that two of the three men who died were sailors Two people who were inside the Jeep were flown to Scripps La Jolla Hospital to receive treatment for their major The driver and a passenger in the van suffered moderate injuries Due to the emergency response to the crash all southbound I-5 lanes between Las Pulgas Road and state Route 76 were shut down the right two lanes on I-5 south at Las Pulgas Road were reopened The left lanes were still closed at that time Update: SB I-5 at Las Pulgas Rd, right two lanes have reopened - left lanes remain closed. pic.twitter.com/ezCwoyc0d5 Officers were still in the process of finishing up their investigation and clearing debris CHP is still working to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash motorists on southbound I-5 near the scene were being diverted to go onto northbound I-5 Drivers who were diverted northbound from the area and drivers coming from Orange or Los Angeles counties on southbound I-5 were advised to take state Route 74 or state route 91 to Interstate 15 At least two lanes and an offramp at northbound I-5 at Cristianitos Road were also closed 2024 at 1:11 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Camp Pendleton will be firing High Powered Ordinance through the weekend (Photo Credit: USMC Camp Pendleton )LAGUNA NIGUEL CA — Hear loud booms in South Orange County this week Marine Corps Base at Camp Pendleton will be practicing live mortar fire through Sunday Camp Pendleton's "noise generating event" can be heard in areas in and around San Clemente The Marine Corps base will run live fire mortar operations daily and planned to fire high explosive munitions all week, according to the statement. contact the Range Operations Division Office at 725-0357 from 7:30 a.m After normal business hours (and weekends) contact the Command Duty Officer at 760-725-5061 Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. 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This work, Your drinking water: Camp Pendleton's Water Resources Division, by Cpl Drake Nickels, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Officials at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton are bringing two new water filtration facilities online by the end of the year to address so-called "forever chemicals" in base drinking water or "PFAS," are a family of man-made compounds used for more than 70 years in all manner of consumer products stain-wicking clothing and even fast food wrappers are just some of the many items in everyday use worldwide containing the compounds They're also present in the aqueous film forming foam used in firefighting which has contributed to PFAS contamination at military bases But the source of the PFAS in the base's drinking water isn't suspected to be from military activities "Our best guess is it's old industrial contamination from sites to the northwest in Orange County," said Cmdr the public works officer at Camp Pendleton Unlike other San Diego military installations with PFAS contamination Camp Pendleton presents a specific concern because unlike those bases it sources its drinking water not from municipal supplies but from underground aquifers fed by the Santa Margarita River Water is pumped from several wells concentrated in the north and south ends of the base California set new lower limits on PFAS in drinking water When water from the northern wells tested beyond those new guidelines in February the base shut down some wells — eight of them — and notified base personnel and military families are now supplying the base with drinking water Dr. Jose Suarez is a physician and epidemiologist at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at UC San Diego who studies environmental health and the effects of chemicals on health He said research shows PFAS in the body can increase the risk of high blood pressure preeclampsia and lower birth rates for pregnant women There's also an increase in the risk of kidney and prostrate cancer and an impact on cholesterol levels Children show decreased responsiveness to vaccines as well 38,000 military family members live on base with 70,000 service members and civilians working there every day The prevalence of PFAS in the environment is of particular concern to Suarez "Over 90% of people in the United States have measurable levels of these chemicals (in their blood)," Suarez said "And the big issue here is that they're very stable in the environment so it takes them a long time to break up some chemicals (it) could be years and some even decades." This is one reason the Environmental Protection Agency is moving to set a national standard for six of the hundreds of PFAS chemicals, the agency announced in March water systems would have to ensure their supplies don't test above four-parts per trillion for the chemicals there hasn't been a national standard for PFAS in water Ramsey said Camp Pendleton is equipped to meet these strict standards and reduce the measurable amount of PFAS in its water effectively to zero by the end of the year Water is processed at two plants on the base one in the north and the other in the south all drinking water is filtered via reverse osmosis Improvements to the system — including the pipeline to the north now supplying that part of the base with water — were recently completed "We hadn't needed to treat for PFAS until recent regulations came out and and focused our attention on it — but the infrastructure was here,” Ramsey said The south plant processes about six million gallons of water per day and it's enough to supply the base and the city of Fallbrook it's not a long-term solution and the wells in the north will need to be brought back into the system Two new liquid phase granular activated carbon filtration systems will be up and running by the end of the year water from the northern wells will once again supply the base with water — this time SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – About 500 Camp Pendleton-based Marines and sailors are being deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of President Trump’s mandate to secure the southern border Northern Command and Joint Task Force North I Marine Expeditionary Force will deploy approximately 500 Marines and Sailors as an immediate augmentation of military active-duty forces to the Southern Border to carry out directed missions called for by the President to secure the border and protect and defend the territorial integrity of the United States.” The troops are not authorized for law enforcement activities such as conducting arrests or seizing illegal drugs but the president said he would decide within 90 days whether to invoke the Insurrection Act at the border Invoking the Insurrection Act gives the president the authority under certain circumstances to deploy military and National Guard personnel in this case "to obtain complete operational control of the southern border." Image Details Marine Corps and Partners Aid Survival of Endangered Southern California FishJun 16, 2021 Written By Jane Hendron Image DetailsThe Southern California Tidewater gobyWhile the promise of rain from this year’s El Nino was welcome news for drought-stricken California the potential for the atmospheric anomaly’s gully-washing storms was bad news for tidewater gobies a rare fish that inhabits coastal lagoons on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Southern California Image DetailsDr Camp Pendleton and California Department of Fish and Wildlife capture tidewater gobies on Camp Pendleton Marine Base in February 2016.Tidewater gobies measure a little more than 2 inches long and are somewhat translucent gobies have shown a surprising ability to withstand large variations in salinity and temperature They prefer sandy substrate for breeding and feed primarily on small invertebrates "The Tidewater Goby generally inhabit coastal brackish water estuaries and lagoons that experience some degree of seasonal closure temporarily isolating them from the sea," explained Brenton Spies a research biologist and PhD candidate at the Univiersity of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) tidewater gobies could be found swimming in lagoons and estuaries along the entire length of the California coast," he said loss of habitat and introduction of non-native predators have diminished the species’ range and left large gaps between populations." Camp Pendleton covers more than 17 miles of coastline and supports eight lagoons and estuaries three of which are currently occupied by the tidewater goby The occurrences of gobies on Camp Pendleton are currently thought to be the only known locations of the species remaining south of Los Angeles County Image DetailsTidewater gobies were netted in February for their protection prior to approaching El Nino-caused storms.Camp Pendleton covers more than 125,000 acres in northern San Diego County and is one of several military installations in California with a significant role in the conservation of rare fish The diverse habitats found on the Base support 18 threatened and endangered species like the tidewater goby When El Nino storms threatened to inundate habitat for tidewater gobies Camp Pendleton stepped up to help safeguard populations of this endangered native fish has been looking into the genetics of this small fish and his research on tidewater goby genetics has established a distinction of the tidewater goby in the southern portion of its range Fish and Wildlife Service to express his concern that the magnitude of predicted storm events triggered by El Nino could flush the tidewater gobies out to open ocean potentially resulting in further loss of these unique southern California populations Although scientists recognize that regular breaching of lagoon systems and flushing of individuals into the open ocean is part of their life history strategy suitable habitat for the species in the southern portion of its range is currently limited the Service coordinated with Camp Pendleton to arrange for an emergency salvage effort to ensure the safety of a portion of the remaining goby populations “The Marine Corps is an important partner in conserving species and habitats Their willingness to assist in this goby conservation effort on Camp Pendleton ensured the fish in this portion of its range would be protected in the event of a catastrophic El Nino event,” said Mendel Stewart field supervisor of the Service’s Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office Image DetailsMelissa Torres is shown caring for the 376 Southern Tidewater Gobies that were held temporarily at the Birch Aquarium Scripps Institution for Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.The Birch Aquarium at Scripps and the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium were already poised to provide temporary refugia for the gobies Over the course of one very long day in February, Spies California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium conducted the emergency collection and Cockleburr Canyon Creek to carefully capture gobies A total of 376 gobies were successfully removed and transported to temporary refugia at the Birch and Santa Monica Pier Aquariums "These two aquariums reacted quickly and graciously agreed to provide temporary housing and care for the gobies until the risk of El Niño storms has diminished," said Spies researchers transported the gobies from the Birch Aquarium and Santa Monica Pier Aquarium to Camp Pendleton where they were returned to their native lagoons Image DetailsBringing the emergency rescue to a conclusion the team released the tidewater gobies back into Hidden Lagoon.To ensure the fish would survive the transfer back to the lagoons temperature and salinity readings were taken at each of the three lagoons By slowly adding lagoon water to the buckets the gobies were given time to acclimate prior to release Although the return of the gobies back to their native habitat was a low key event and releasing them required considerable planning and the cooperative efforts of numerous individuals the protective action was important to do,” said Jacobs “Given the high risk to this southern species such actions are essential unless and until "While this emergency rescue was critical to save the species "The California coast represents valuable real estate and estuarine habitat must continue to be protected in order to conserve the goby along with the plants and animals that share its habitat." plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people The Camp Pendleton Marines will join around 350 Marines from the 2nd Division at Camp Lejeune and will be assigned duties by Border Patrol Agents The increased law enforcement presence at the border comes after a federal immigration control regulation ended Thursday. Public Health Service Act was triggered in March 2020 by then-head of U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the authority of former President Donald Trump as a means of preventing propagation of COVID-19 The order enabled federal authorities to send border crossers back into Mexico without formal asylum hearings based on efforts to mitigate the spread of coronavirus The health order provided the means to expel 2.7 million individuals over the last three years The end of the regulation is expected to trigger a greater influx of border crossers into Southern California placing "significant stress" on county resources requiring decisive measure to stop abuse of the immigration system City News Service contributed to this report (CNS) - Firefighters continue battling a brush fire that has spread across thousands of open acres at Camp Pendleton sending a pall of brown smoke over the northern reaches of the San Diego area and into southern Orange County 31 toward the northern end of the military installation had blackened about 4,000 acres as of late Thursday afternoon but was posing no structural threats according to base public-affairs personnel crews had the sprawling burn area roughly 20% contained prompted the South Coast Air Quality Management District to issue a smoke advisory for southern Orange County warning that atmospheric pollution could reach unhealthy levels for "sensitive groups" of people through late Friday afternoon The sooty conditions were expected to spread along the coast of Orange County and into southwestern Riverside County before dissipating AQMD officials advised those in areas affected by the smoke to: This work, Camp Pendleton receives Beam electric vehicle charging units, by Sgt Shaina Jupiter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright 2019 photo released by Stacy Wallace shows her son An Arizona family is searching for Job Wallace Marine who left for Camp Pendleton on Monday but never arrived at the base outside San Diego Marine believed to have left Arizona for California’s Camp Pendleton never arrived but was found days later at a Texas rest area The 20-year-old had last been seen leaving a friend’s house in Surprise He was due back at Camp Pendleton after a three-day leave that took him home to the suburbs west of Phoenix and a camping trip Arizona family searches for missing Camp Pendleton Marine Lance Cpl was last seen leaving a friend’s house in Surprise Navarro County is more than 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) east of Surprise and in the opposite direction from Camp Pendleton in Southern California the special agent in charge of the NCIS Marine Corps West field office did not include details about how Wallace was found or what he was doing Stacy Wallace had said her son loved the Marines and was excited to get back to Camp Pendleton “He got into several colleges and missed scholarship opportunities just so that he could be a Marine because he felt it was his duty to serve his country,” Wallace said Wallace’s mother had said law enforcement officials told her that her son’s phone was last pinged Monday night in Arizona But a Border Patrol camera spotted his truck the next morning traveling eastbound on Interstate 10 near Fort Hancock A Surprise police spokesman had said officers took a report and turned the matter over to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Thomas’ Saturday night statement thanked law enforcement partners in Texas Arizona and on the federal level “for their aid in bringing this to a safe resolution.” A Marine Corps helicopter's engine caught fire Friday, forcing its crew to make an emergency landing near Camp Pendleton in Southern California The CH-53E Super Stallion -- the service's primary heavy-lift helicopter -- experienced an in-flight engine fire at 4:11 p.m The aircraft "safely landed" in a landing zone on the base near Interstate 5 before it was engulfed in flames The helicopter belonged to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing A spokesperson for the wing told Military.com on Friday evening that the four-person crew was safe with no injuries Marine Corps and local emergency services responded to the scene to extinguish the fire prompting authorities to urge the public to avoid the area Read Next: Tricare Patients Fear Losing Preferred Health Care Providers Amid Contract Transition The California Highway Patrol posted images of the subsequent fire on social media Friday noting that travelers should expect traffic delays in the area "Additional details will be shared as they become available," 3rd MAW said in its statement The cause of the fire is not currently known A mishap board -- a body meant to investigate crashes -- was assigned on Friday The Super Stallion belonged to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466 The nearly 70-ton Super Stallion is the Marine Corps' premier heavy-lift helicopter, known for rapidly transporting up to 55 troops and 16 tons of equipment from ship-to-shore and elsewhere, according to the service Marine Corps officials told Military.com that the Super Stallion was one of several aircraft being used in lieu of the V-22 Osprey when the latter was grounded amid concerns over mechanical issues and pilot safety Between 2012 and 2023, the Super Stallion was involved in 16 "Class A" mishaps, Military.com previously reported; such mishaps are defined as an incident involving the aircraft that killed or cost the military more than $2.5 million in damages In 2016, two of the helicopters crashed into each other off the coast of Hawaii, resulting in the deaths of 12 service members. In 2018, four Marines from 3rd MAW were killed when their Super Stallion crashed near El Centro In February this year -- the last known fatal crash for the aircraft -- five Marines from 3rd MAW were killed when their aircraft crashed near a mountain east of San Diego during a routine flight from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada Marine Corps Times reported that the commander of the squadron the Marines belonged to was fired earlier this month for "loss of trust and confidence" nine months after the fatal crash The investigation into that crash is ongoing In October, a CH-54E crashed on takeoff at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma according to Naval Safety Command data reviewed by Military.com The aircraft was deemed "repairable" and "minor injuries" were reported though the number of service members involved in the incident was not noted Related: 5 Marines Killed in California Helicopter Crash Identified as Families Grieve A recent social media posting notified Marines that there had been a “spike in cases of pneumonia” and advised personnel to seek medical attention if they had symptoms such as chest pain temperature greater than 100.4 F or a cough lasting longer than three days the SOI-W clinic treated 138 pneumonia cases far above the average of five to eight cases a day “The majority were treated and released,” Teresa Ovalle with Marine Corps Combat Development Command wrote in an email Hundreds of Marine recruits sick at San Diego boot campHundreds of Marine Corps recruits are sick after a bacterial outbreak at the Corps' West Coast boot camp.By After that three-day period “We are confident that this issue has been contained and all precautions has been made to mitigate any further spread of this illness,” according to an April 27 SOI-W Facebook post Most infections screened at the clinic were mild “We are working closely with Marine Corps leadership to provide all necessary medical support and our preventive medicine staff are working diligently to determine and eliminate the cause of the current infections,” she said government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content A brush fire at a training area of Camp Pendleton Marine Corps military base in California's San Diego County The "forward spread [of the fire] has stopped" and 40 percent of the fire has been contained as of Tuesday morning according to a post on the official Twitter account of Camp Pendleton The fire broke out Monday evening in the Mike Training Area at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton It is unknown whether any evacuations had taken place The cause of the fire is under investigation The Camp Pendleton Fire Department is battling the fire The fire had blazed across eight acres by around 8 p.m. local time and 35 acres by 9:30 p.m. Firefighters reported the fire had been 20 percent contained when it spread to 50 acres by about 10:30 p.m. local time, NBC 7 reports There was a "slow rate of spread" by the time the fire spread to 35 acres The San Diego County Sheriff's Department warned on its official Twitter account: "If you live in @SDSO Fallbrook and @SDSOVista be aware that smoke burning from a brush fire on Camp Pendleton may be visible in your area." Newsweek has contacted Camp Pendleton for more information Update: 145 acres, forward spread stopped, 40% contained. https://t.co/vSEkZ5hw1T Orange and grey clouds of smoke were visible from distant hillsides according to images shared by Twitter user @kevinmcclain06 A little precipitation is starting to move in so there is a noticeable decrease in fire activity at this time," @kevinmcclain06 noted in a later post @nbcsandiego current fire on Camp Pendleton ridge line. View from Oceanside. pic.twitter.com/5H0TKT5bFJ #CampPendelton fire visible here in Fallbrook hope they are safe," wrote Twitter user @CcahillCali #Camp Pendelton fire visible here in Fallbrook.🔥🔥. Such a hot day for the firefighters, hope they are safe. pic.twitter.com/FHJYb7EO3i Spanning more than 125,000 acres on the coast of Southern California Camp Pendleton is the Marine Corps' largest West Coast expeditionary training facility Located around 38 miles from downtown San Diego and about 82 miles south of Los Angeles Camp Pendleton contains the largest undeveloped portion of coastline in Southern California and Southern California's only free-flowing river canyons and mountains and over 1,000 species of plants some of which are reported to be either threatened or endangered Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio 2021 at 3:14 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Smell smoke in San Clemente A fire broke out Wednesday in Camp Pendleton's training area CA — A Camp Pendleton brush fire ignited Wednesday afternoon but did not pose a threat to San Clemente or south Orange County in an area of the base where troop training occurs "Due to the high volume of live-fire training and the nature of the ordnance and ammunition fired there is the potential for vegetation fires," a statement from the Camp Pendleton website reports "Camp Pendleton averages approximately 185 training-related vegetation fires annually." Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. The crash was reported shortly after 3 a.m. on the southbound side of the freeway near Las Pulgas Road, north of Oceanside, according to the California Highway Patrol’s online incident log. A Jeep Wrangler veered off the highway for unknown reasons, struck a guardrail and became disabled, according to CHP Officer Hunter Gerber. Previous news reports identified the Jeep as a military vehicle, but Gerber said it was not affiliated with the military. While the vehicle was disabled, a Mercedes-Benz van crashed and overturned. Four motorcyclists crashed into the van and a fire began, Gerber said. Three of the motorcyclists died at the scene, Gerber said. The driver and passenger of the Jeep Wrangler were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, and the driver and passenger of the van were hospitalized with moderate injuries. A motorcyclist was transported to a hospital with major non-life-threatening injuries, Gerber said. A SigAlert was issued around 4 a.m. and traffic remained completely stopped at 10 a.m. Two of the four lanes were reopened by late morning. The crash remains under investigation, Gerber said. At one point, a woman got out of her GMC Yukon and handed out chips to people stuck in traffic, drawing weary thank-yous from drivers and passengers. Nathan Solis reports on breaking news with the Fast Break team at the Los Angeles Times. World & Nation California Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map When you write a Golf Advisor course review now through December 31 your review will be entered into Golf Advisor’s Rate to Escape: Maui Sweepstakes for a chance to win a five-star trip to Maui One Grand Prize winner and guest will travel in an AVIS rental car for six nights/ seven days of accommodations with the latest gear from OGIO to play on the finest fairways in Maui We’re also giving away 12 Golf Advisor Swag bags to lucky reviewers A discovery of old plans has led to a new Marine Memorial Golf Course in Camp Pendleton All of the reviews on Golf Advisor have been four and five stars since debuting the finished product Bell to restore the course to its original flavor All of them were reshaped and filled with new sand "We brought it back to the golden era of golf," says Jake Wiese "The contours of the bunkers is the big thing Now they are fluffy and soft (with new sand)." Some of the most dramatic changes came at the third hole where a bunker was installed at the dogleg where a new bunker in the middle of the fairway guards the second shot Players looking for more affordable green fees enjoy its natural setting without homes California Advisor nickesquire gave Marine Memorial five stars gushing about almost every aspect of the operation standing on the tee and being able to look directly at the green on numerous par 4 and par 5 holes was a nice change," he wrote "I liked that most fairways were tree lined with no houses within sight and had traps on both sides Liked even better that it was usually one trap on each side The greens were well bunkered and the par 3's were challenging The playing conditions were a pleasant surprise very good bordering on excellent in every area." “Our rounds have increased 15 to 20 percent just by word of mouth," Wiese said 2024 at 5:43 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Residents in the Temecula Murrieta and Lake Elsinore area were smelling and seeing drift smoke (Renee Schiavone/Patch)SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY CA — A fire burning Monday at Camp Pendleton was sending heavy smoke across Southwest Riverside County Murrieta and Lake Elsinore area were smelling and seeing drift smoke from the Pendleton blaze Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department confirmed "The fire was training-related and situated deep within the impact area," according to Cervantes "We want to assure you that these fires pose no threat to personnel or nearby structures it has not been possible to measure the acreage of the fires at this time," Cervantes continued and we are continuously monitoring the situation." A brush fire that erupted Monday north of Moreno Valley burned roughly four acres before it was stopped The non-injury blaze was reported about 1:50 p.m. in the 7800 block of Reche Canyon Road, south of Center Street, near the boundary separating Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department. Read more here a controlled burn to eliminate 2,500 acres of overgrowth in the San Bernardino National Forest near Anza got underway Monday with plans for a continuation of operations over the next week or so The burn is focused around 6,825-foot Thomas Mountain, south of Lake Hemet and just west of Highway 74, according to the forest service. Read more here Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Camp Pendleton 40 years laterRefugees from Vietnam revisit military base that helped resettle them after the war.USA TODAYAs a child slept for a month in a refugee tent that her family shared with several other families at Camp Pendleton military base in Southern California This was after the Vietnam War ended on April 30 When her family arrived at Camp Pendleton that May there were 18,000 Vietnamese living in eight "tent cities." By the time the operation closed five months later Camp Pendleton had aided more than 50,000 immigrants Below, excerpts from her column "Voices: 40 years later, still looking through the eyes of a refugee," and photos that track a family's journey from refugees to the embodiment of the American Dream: KQED Live EventsPRX Podcast Garage EventsEvents Around the Bay AreaMember Benefits with KQED LiveVideos from KQED LiveWatch recordings of recent KQED Live events FeaturedThat's My WordAn ongoing exploration of Bay Area hip-hop history See Senior Director of TV Programming Meredith Speight’s recommendations from this month’s KQED 9 Watch recordings of recent KQED Live events Support KQED by using your donor-advised fund to make a charitable gift the North Vietnamese took control of Saigon and the United States began frantically evacuating tens of thousands of South Vietnamese Camp Pendleton in Southern California was transformed into a makeshift refugee camp toilets and showers before refugees started arriving That first wave included two teenage sisters but hadn’t been back to the base in 42 years nothing looks very familiar to Jessica and Evelyn We’re at the northernmost part of Camp Pendleton Evelyn was just 14 when her family arrived here remembers being nervous when their plane landed at the military airport “We were kind of scared -- worried how people would treat us outside because we knew about the anti-war movement,” Jessica said “We were walking into a situation where people have protested before and you didn’t know what was going to happen.” and she remembers civilians in the streets waving at them There’s a lot of nervous laughter as these two women -- now in their 50s -- try to remember what it was like to be vulnerable teenagers leaving their comfortable home in Saigon to start over in a new country Download Jessica and Evelyn came from a well-to-do family in Vietnam They spoke French and wore fashionable dresses and barrettes in their hair They were sheltered teenagers -- their mother hardly let them out of her sight So coming to Camp Pendleton felt like an adventure “It looked pretty to me,” Jessica said “I never camped before so it was kind of like camping Their mother was nervous about having her young daughters around so many military men in uniform But Jessica and Evelyn remember the Marines as kind and gentle young men working to help the refugees A base nurse treated their sister for asthma with great tenderness The Marines shared scratchy blankets and clothes it’s all the way down to your ankles,” Jessica said a Marine even came running out of the base health clinic to give her and her friend a box of maxi-pads it was a pretty good gift at the time,” she said “There was one Marine guy,” she said “I think he served in Vietnam and then he learned how to eat fish sauce in a way for him to connect with the refugees he would walk around in his pocket with this little fish sauce And then whenever he wanted to maybe flirt with some young lady ‘I got the fish sauce!’ He would even say that in Vietnamese!” But for all their funny stories about their teenage adventures Jessica also recalls the pain of watching adults in the camp traumatized by the war "There was a woman who saved the (leftover) rice  She would spread out a newspaper and dry the rice out outside of her tent every day And I saw some GI walk by and he made a face like ‘What's going on?’ But because we went through the war we still have worries about not having food." the section of Camp Pendleton that once housed the refugees and Marines in fatigues walk past metal quonset huts It’s hard to tell there was once a refugee camp here But we’re given a tour by Phillip Nguyen a civilian who works on the base maintaining many of the facilities first came through Camp Pendleton as a refugee he stayed in the same section as the Kheo sisters: Camp 5 who helped maintain the refugee camp during the war He was also in Saigon helping refugees onto helicopters back in 1975 you got out before the rush,” he tells the sisters who left a week before the city fell to Communist forces “It was still a war going on,” Duren recalls explaining that North Vietnamese troops were firing on fleeing South Vietnamese and on the U.S troops trying to get them out of the country So just pack them into helicopters was our main concern We weren’t thinking how many we could get in; just get them in You didn’t have a lot of time to think “There is trauma in the whole experience of being evacuated from Vietnam,” says Evelyn “I think that's why it was very hard for us and for the longest time we never talked much about the experience.” that her family had the means to get out by airplane compared to the “boat people” who came from Vietnam later risking drowning and an uncertain future on rickety vessels We wander for a while among World War II quonset huts which also served as the mess hall and medical clinic for the refugees one of eight clusters of tents on the northern part of the base This was the place the Kheo family called home in 1975 it’s just a dry meadow at the bottom of a steep hill Evelyn ambles through the dry grass and looks around thoughtfully then I'm pretty sure that we're right around this bend Because I remember that's where our tent was and that's where I played hopscotch every day in front of the tent,” she says where she used to lie down and stare up at the sky but she and her sister head to the shade of another massive oak Photos and letters as thin as onion skin are carefully pasted to the pages These are letters the Kheo sisters’ father wrote to another sister in France explaining that they had arrived at Camp Pendleton and were waiting for a sponsor there’s a photograph of their family -- in a newspaper article about how churches in the U.S standing in this overgrown meadow that once served as their home at the beginning of their new life in California “I think this is truly a land of opportunity,” Evelyn says But I think this country is very paradoxical But I am grateful for my experience for being evacuated to this country." it ultimately meant she was allowed to live a life of her own creation “I felt bad that the war had to end with us losing,” she says I couldn't wait to get out of the country [Vietnam] because that was always my dream I don't think I would be able to come to the U.S.” Jessica and Evelyn’s family stayed at Camp Pendleton for about a month They left when a San Diego family agreed to sponsor them They’ve made their home here -- Evelyn became a school guidance counselor and Jessica a first-grade teacher He’s thrilled that refugees like the ones he helped load onto helicopters 42 years ago have gone on to become successful “I mean they came over here and they made best of the best 'I have an opportunity to do something and I’m gonna do something' So they’re paying it forward now.” “We were very fortunate to get to Camp Pendleton,” says Jessica “And still have time to play hopscotch and just lie down under a tree and dream.” To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. 2025 at 11:06 am PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Depending on atmospheric conditions communities as far as 50 miles away from the impact areas may be able able to hear the sound of explosions according to officials.​ (Shutterstock)CAMP PENDLETON CA — Residents can expect to hear loud booms next week coming from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton The military base issued a noise advisory ahead of live-fire training with high explosive munitions starting Monday and running through Sunday Troops will conduct training exercises from midnight to 11:59 p.m each day in the base's Whiskey and Zulu impact areas of Camp Pendleton "This training may be heard anytime throughout the day or night," military officials said on social media The loud booms could be heard in northern San Diego southern Orange and southwest Riverside counties Fallbrook is 5 miles from the Zulu and 7.3 miles from the Whiskey impact areas while Oceanside is 6.6 miles from the Zulu and 9.9 miles from the Whiskey impact areas Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Wildfire Today A new fire at Camp Pendleton in southern California grew rapidly after it started at 3:15 p.m. Thursday. A 5:09 a.m. update on Friday from the base said it had burned 8,000 acres and was 5 percent contained. Several areas on the base have been evacuated. Little other information about the fire is available since the Marines rarely allow reporters on the base when a fire is burning A total of 19 military helicopters are providing fire suppression support to firefighters in southern California including eight Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters seven CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters and four UH-1Y Huey helicopters #wildfire #camppendleton #hmla #laspulgasfire #calfire #ch46 pic.twitter.com/qqBArb0ZDd — Demetrios Marinides (@dmarinides) May 16, 2014 @ABCNewsLive @brandon_rosser and it’s all coming to Temecula…..????? Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. Please read the commenting rules before you post a comment Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email The one-time racehorse-turned-Marine whose heroism earned her the Purple Heart with Gold Star and a spot in Life magazine continues to receive well-deserved accolades Sixty-four years to the day after a little Mongolian mare was bought to carry munitions for the antitank division of the 5th Marines Recoilless Rifle (“Reckless”) Platoon in the Korean War, some 600 people gathered on October 26, 2016, at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California, to witness the unveiling of a monument of Staff Sgt. Reckless the one-time racehorse-turned-Marine whose heroism in battle earned the Purple Heart with Gold Star and landed her on Life magazine’s “Celebrating Our Heroes” list alongside George Washington and Martin Luther King “When this cover is taken off [the statue] you will see a rendition of Reckless climbing a steep hill about 30 miles north of Seoul USMC (Ret.) and president of Camp Pendleton Historical Society in his opening remarks at the monument dedication ceremony at the base’s Pacific Views Event Center “What you won’t see is her coming down that same hill — still under fire — carrying wounded Marines,” he added who fought in what has been called ‘America’s Forgotten War.’ My hope is it will be forgotten no more.” During the pivotal Battle of Outpost Vegas Reckless made 51 round trips from the ammunition supply point to the firing sites in a single day carrying 386 rounds of ammunition — more than 9,000 pounds — through open rice paddies and up steep mountains amid heavy enemy fire “I looked back at the eastern skyline through all the smoke and could hardly believe my eyes,” described Sgt “The silhouette of a heavily laden horse came in and out of view along the ridge scrambling in the torn earth to keep her footing.” One of two survivors of “Hill Vegas” and a lifelong horseman Wadley served as technical advisor on weapons and tack to the monument’s artist who spent a year sculpting Reckless in her studio in Friday Harbor guiding my hands as I worked,” Russell said at the dedication She had a life of her own.” The day the crated sculpture left Russell’s studio for the foundry was unexpectedly emotional “I turned around and the shop was empty and it hit me like a wave I just broke down crying.” Besides capturing the attributes of the horse the stunning bronze monument contains in its base actual hair from the mare’s tail which was preserved upon her death in 1968 Reckless was shipped from Korea to the States and lived out her retirement at Camp Pendleton she was buried with full military honors on base at Stepp Stables Reckless: America’s War Horse Robin Hutton — she coined “She wasn’t a horse — she was a Marine!” and has championed the resurgence of Reckless in the public eye — gave a heartfelt presentation at the ceremony “This has been a five-year journey,” Hutton said of her dream to bring a monument of Reckless to Camp Pendleton and haunting rendition of “Echo Taps” at Reckless’ dedication came about from Hutton’s requests A film-industry veteran and president of Angels Without Wings Hutton has made a mission of promoting Reckless since hearing about her a decade ago Reckless was posthumously awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal (the animals’ Victoria Cross) in England in July 2016 First erected at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico Reckless monument cost $185,000 (including landscaping) Funds were raised through donations to the Camp Pendleton Historical Society and Hutton’s Angels Without Wings nonprofit Reckless monument will be erected in South Korea’s Yeon Chon County plans are underway to erect yet another Sgt Reckless statue at the International Museum of the Horse in Lexington The final moments of Camp Pendleton’s monument dedication ceremony saw the presentation of South Korea’s Ambassador for Peace Medal to Reckless alongside her statue Made of barbed wire and mortar shells from the DMZ the medal honors and remembers veterans who served in Korea PDSA Dickin Medal was awarded posthumously in England on July 2016 The medal is recognized worldwide as animals’ Victoria Cross It acknowledges outstanding acts of bravery or devotion to duty by animals serving with armed forces or civil defense units in any theater of war throughout the world Ambassador for Peace Medal was awarded at the monument dedication ceremony on October 26 It is an honor bestowed by the Republic of Korea to Americans who served in the Korean War Photography courtesy Susan Brown Matsumoto. See more of her photographs at www.susanbrownmatsumotophotography.com Read C&I’s Sgt. Reckless feature here. Print Scientists say a tiny endangered fish found in lagoons and streams along the California coast belongs to two separate species survives in relatively isolated populations from Del Norte County down to San Diego The fish spend most of their lives in the same puddles rarely traveling far from where they spawned The southernmost groups, cut off from the north by the rocky headlands of Palos Verdes, show the distinctive genetic and physical characteristics of a new species, which is described by scientists from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and UCLA in a paper published Wednesday in PLOS One The southern tidewater goby lives in only a few spots at Camp Pendleton, making the designation as its own species a critical one for its conservation, said David Jacobs a biologist and geologist at UCLA who helped identify the species with the museum’s Camm Swift The tidewater goby’s survival is linked to the existence of lagoons which are threatened by coastal development and the ongoing drought “It’s not a coincidence these things are now only on Pendleton,” Jacobs said ocean-bound streams dry up and form lagoons and ponds along the coast It’s in these puddles that male gobies dig burrows in the sand Females put on colorful display rituals near the entrance of the burrows to compete for males winter rains may open the ponds and lagoons to the sea This sometimes allows the fish to find new streams along the coast it’s only for short distances — and if nothing blocks their way the Palos Verdes cliffs rose from the sea and divided the tidewater gobies’ potential range in two the groups have been left to evolve in isolation from one other See the most-read stories in Science this hour » The fish that live north of Los Angeles County keep the original species name The southern tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius kristinae) has fewer rays on their fins and more “neuromasts” — organs that allow fish to sense movement in the water The researchers noticed the differences by examining 145 preserved specimens from the natural history museum’s collection The new species has been found in nine lagoons in northern San Diego County over the past 30 years scientists could find the fish only at Camp Pendleton The southern tidewater goby’s true historic range is difficult to measure Tidewater gobies were first described as a species in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1856 By the time the fish were collected south of Los Angeles in 1939 the coastline had been reshaped by oil production Swift and Jacobs infer the southern tidewater goby’s historic range stretches as far north as San Pedro Swift, Jacobs and colleagues first suggested the northern and southern fishes belonged to two distinct species in a 2009 study that found significant genetic differences between the groups kristinae is named after the late Kristina Louie who co-authored the genetic study of the southern tidewater goby as one of Jacobs’ doctoral students Louie died in 2004 shortly after earning her PhD Camp Pendleton and the Santa Monica Pier and Birch aquariums captured and temporarily housed gobies in case flooding from El Niño storms washed away their habitat Jacobs said his team is looking to reintroduce the southern tidewater goby in additional locations around their historic range the people of Orange and San Diego counties can coexist with this thing with very little effort,” Jacobs said Follow me on Twitter seangreene89 and “like” Los Angeles Times Science on Facebook Scientists find microbiotic treasure hidden in the nose Cloned animals don’t age any faster than conventional ones, study says Could ice volcanoes explain Ceres’ missing craters? Dwarf planet puzzles scientists Sean Greene is an assistant data and graphics editor, focused on visual storytelling at the Los Angeles Times. Science & Medicine according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District The agency issued a wildfire smoke advisory that will remain in place until Thursday morning The air quality index levels is listed as Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups reached over 2,250 acres in size and was just 15 percent contained Three homes have been destroyed in the blaze and 4,000 people remain evacuated from their homes as firefighters worked to develop containment lines smoky air was projected to blow westward over Southwest Riverside County and parts of Orange County into Thursday Residents in the affected areas were urged to limit their exposure by staying indoors with windows and doors closed and avoiding vigorous outdoor physical activity Residents should also avoid using swamp coolers or allowing outside air inside their homes Highland Fire Burns 2,500 Acres, 15% Contained, Air Quality Alerts Inferno In Photos: SoCal Windstorm Contributes To Swift-Burning Fire Livestock Evacuated From Highland Fire Find Shelter In San Jacinto 3 Families Lose Everything In The Highland Fire: How To Help Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker