Marines Take Blame for Brush Fire : Blaze: Infantry training exercise at Camp Pendleton caused the wildfire that burned 4,800 acres and closed Interstate 5, officials say. But they don’t give specifics.

A military training exercise sparked the 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 either side of the military reservation.

“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 Marines have taken the blame for blackening thousands of acres of countryside.

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 findings of a military investigation.

This month’s fire, which started Nov. 6 and lasted three days, not only caused headaches for commuters, but prompted several Orange County fire and law enforcement agencies to rush in manpower and equipment.

Orange County Fire Department Capt. Dan Young said his department dispatched 13 fire trucks and 45 firefighters, at a cost of about $55,000 for two days. Under a mutual-aid agreement, the department may ask for reimbursement of about three-quarters of that amount, depending on who is considered responsible at the conclusion of the investigation, Young said.

“Someone is responsible for it,” he said. “It may be weeks and months before we know.”

CHP Officer Paul Golonski said the blaze, the first to close the freeway through the base in at least 15 years, forced the department’s San Juan Capistrano office to go on full alert when flames jumped the freeway, forcing its closure Nov. 7.

At least 10 officers were brought in on overtime to handle the sometimes belligerent motorists who had to wait hours before traveling on toward San Diego.

“There were a lot of people who were very upset,” Golonski said. “On the contrary, there were a lot of people who were very understanding.”

Golonski said the freeway closure posed unusual problems because there are no viable alternate routes through the military base.

“Where do they go?” he asked. “We had to send them back to the Ortega Highway, but then that got congested. They (motorists) were stuck with a kind of Hobson’s choice of waiting until the fire was put out.”

Fanned by Santa Ana winds that reached 80 m.p.h., the fire tore through the bone-dry region, racing across hillsides on the base and scorching 400 acres at San Onofre State Beach.

Because of the damage to the area, campsites on the bluffs of the state park will remain closed through the Thanksgiving weekend, said Allen Oliver, district superintendent of the state Department of Parks and Recreation.

“We’re in the midst of a massive cleanup, trying to get the park open, at least for day use, by Monday,” Oliver said. “Originally, we had hoped to be open by Thanksgiving, but there is a lot of mud and debris on the beach right now.”

Oliver said it was the first fire in the 18-year history of the 1,500-acre park, which sits on land leased from the Marine Corps. He plans to meet with Marine officials Tuesday to discuss repairs to the park.

Park officials plan to put up fencing to keep visitors out of areas along the bluffs where they could cause further damage or suffer injuries, Oliver said. The campground will then be reopened Monday for day use, including all six of its trails to the beach, he said.

Despite all the disruption caused by the fire, only one firefighter was injured, and no damage to structures was reported. Oliver said that power poles were downed at the park but that electricity was immediately shut off and that no damage resulted.