Final Sweep of Ordnance in Tierrasanta Begins

A contractor for the Army Corps of Engineers has begun its final phase of a sweep of the Tierrasanta canyons in search of old but live explosives left over from the area’s use as a Marine artillery range, a corps spokesman said.

The contractor, Environmental Chemical Corp., began sweeping Jan. 7, according to the spokesman, Bob Armogeda. The sweep, in which magnetic locaters are used to detect buried ordnance, is expected to last until April, 1993.

“They’re hoping this will eliminate this problem until time immemorial,” Armogeda said.

He said the Corps of Engineers will keep the Tierrasanta community informed of sweeps, and of any possible danger, through public meetings such as one held Wednesday.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a potential public danger, and people should stay away” during the sweep, he said.

Wednesday’s meeting between the Corps of Engineers, the contractor and the community drew about 80 community members, said Jim Madaffer, chairman of the Tierrasanta Community Council.

Although community residents seemed to approve of most of the safety measures taken by the contractor, several residents expressed their concern over an increase in traffic caused by the contractor’s location next to a condominium area, he said.

Madaffer said he believed Tierrasanta was the first residential area the Corps of Engineers has swept for ordnance.

The Tierrasanta development was built in the 1970s on land that was once part of Camp Elliot, which operated as a Marine Corps artillery range during World War II.

In December, 1983, two 8-year-old boys were killed by an unexploded artillery shell they discovered while playing in a Tierrasanta canyon. The shell detonated, killing both and injuring a third boy, when one of the boys banged it against a rock.

The city of San Diego and the developers of the 1,600-acre community of condominiums and single-family homes agreed to pay a total of $6.3 million to the families of the two boys in out-of-court settlements.

Eighty-one signs warning, “This area has not been swept for unexploded shells” and explaining that Tierrasanta was once part of a Marine artillery and tank training base have been posted.

Several sweeps conducted by the Navy since the boys’ deaths have led to the discovery of hundreds of pieces of ordnance, a Navy spokeswoman said last month. Enlisted men walking through the canyons of Tierrasanta during two sweeps found 178 pieces of ordnance in 1984 and 215 in 1985. In addition, 100 rounds of ammunition--most of it live--were found. Of the 41 items found during a 1989 sweep, four were highly explosive, the spokeswoman said.

Beginning Jan. 22, workers will burn and search an area of brush south of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard at the east end of Calle de Vida in the Mission Trails area, Armogeda said. “The burn is approximately 60 acres and the county of San Diego . . . will supervise the burn,” said Patrick McKnight, a supervisor for the contractor.

In March and April, ordnance removal personnel will sweep the area between Viacha and Catamarca Drives and north of Tierrasanta Boulevard next to Rueda Drive and Tambor Road.