Marine Exercise Blamed for Fire

A military training exercise sparked the devastating wildfire that ravaged 4,800 acres of brushland earlier this month and shut down Interstate 5 through this sprawling Marine Corps base a Marine spokeswoman said Tuesday.

But base officials declined to reveal specifically what set off the blaze, which left motorists stranded for up to 12 hours in San Clemente and Oceanside on both sides of Camp Pendleton. It was the first time in more than a decade that I-5 was closed through the base, according to CHP Officer Paul Golonski.

“All I can say right now is that it was the school of infantry training,” Staff Sgt. Vicki Turney said. “That could mean numerous things. It could have been gunfire or it could have been a flare. I can assume they were not just camping out there.”

The blaze was the second time in two years that the Marine Corps has taken the blame for blackening thousands of acres.

Last year, a fire that charred more than 11,000 acres in Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties was started by a platoon of Marines who were illegally shooting military fireworks in a high fire-risk area, according to the findings of a military investigation.