Hellfire Missiles…Squid is used to hearing odd pops in the night starting about a week before July 4th. But the explosions over South County and Big Sur last weekend were much bigger and scarier than fireworks, and the blaze that lit up the Stony Valley in Fort Hunter Liggett was more wildfire than pyrotechnic.
Live gunnery on one of the fort’s firing ranges sparked the fire last Thursday afternoon, according to Army spokesman Eric Jones. The 5,000-acre blaze was fully contained by Friday morning, thanks to the Fort Hunter Liggett Fire Department, CalFire and U.S. Forest Service firefighters.
But the WildBigSur listserv was still burning through the weekend, as people described military choppers flying scarily low Sunday night.
One person watched attack helicopters showing off south of Lake Nacimiento, “twisting and turning, skimming the tops of the oaks on a nearby ridge” as fighter jets blasted higher up. Another reported seeing them all the way up in Monterey.
It all comes back to the perennial issue of military aircraft exercises at Fort Hunter Liggett: how low they can fly, how late they can train, and generally how much they can freak out the rural areas where most residents, including the Camoldoli monks near Lucia, have chosen to live in peace and relative solitude.
Jones confirms there are Black Hawks and Apache helicopters training at the fort right now.
“I do know they fly fairly low, but most of that is over the range,” he says. No comment on the rules on just how low and how loud they can get.
One listserv contributor, though, can offer a few estimates. He reports choppers as low as 100 feet near the Nacimiento drainage, and blasts as late as 11pm—the latest data in what he describes as the long-term misuse of the Big Sur Military Operations Area.
“The helicopters were shooting live-round hellfire missiles on the tank range and in Stoney Valley this week, and started the three-day fire that polluted the region,” he writes. “The Navy is prohibited from use of live-fire bombing, according to Sam Farr's office; however, they do so anyway.”
Jones, though, says he doesn’t know of a problem: “I haven’t received any complaints.”
May Squid suggest he join the listserv?
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.