[CPEO-MEF] Farr: Army 'blew it' on burn

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

California
THE MONTEREY COUNTY HERALD
Farr: Army 'blew it' on burn
Calls for congressional hearing
By Sukhjit Purewal, spurewal@montereyherald.com
Posted on Wed, Oct. 29, 2003

U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, has added his voice to the angry chorus of
Monterey County residents who want to know what went wrong with the
Army's prescribed burn at Fort Ord on Friday.

"This is the million-dollar fire that went wrong," Farr said, referring
to the original price tag for the project. The congressman said the Army
"spent years going through lawsuits and regulatory requirements... and
they blew it."

Farr, who sits on the military construction subcommittee of the House
Committee on Appropriations, has called for a congressional field
hearing in Monterey to determine why the 490-acre burn evolved into a
1,470-acre inferno sending plumes of smoke and ash into the area from
Seaside to Pebble Beach.

The military construction subcommittee has jurisdiction over funding for
the Army's Base Realignment and Closure team, the group overseeing
cleanup of Fort Ord.

Army spokeswoman Lauren Solis said the Army will cooperate with Farr and
the investigation.

The burns are the Army's way of clearing maritime chaparral on the
8,000-acre "multirange area," formerly a site for heavy target practice.

After being lighted at 9:06 p.m., the fire seemed to be progressing as
expected until it raced past boundaries at Evolution Road and Broadway
Avenue about two hours later. The fire, which was conducted by a private
company, Fire Stop, nearly reached Gen. Jim Moore Boulevard, sending
some Seaside residents into their yards with garden hoses Friday night.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/7130815.htm

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