Re: At Close Range

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

In response to the Fresno Bee article, I contacted the Army Corps of
Engineers about the Madera Range. This site is a low priority because
available information indicates that only practice bombs, without high
explosive filler, were dropped there. The Corps believes that the black
powder spotting charges used on those bombs have degraded in the five
decades-plus since the range was last used. The property was cleared for
scrap, but occasionally more scrap appears. They believe there is no
explosive hazard associated with ordnance at the site.

Lenny





Stella Bourassa wrote:
> 
> Historical archives/data have been cited as a main reason for methodologies
> and cleanup or more precisely the 'lack' thereof-no historical data, no
> reason for 'extensive' methodologies and cleanup.  At least, that is the
> opinion I  believe.  If my opinion is wrong, anyone is more than welcome to
> 'set the record straight' and  correct me.
> 
> Based on the importance of historical data/archives, was it the historical
> data/archives or frost/heave - heat/heave that caused the history of this
> bombing range during WWII to be exposed?  If it was historical data, who
> found the documentation and where did you find it?  How did you go about
> obtaining it?
> 
> Stella
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "CPEO Moderator" <cpeo@cpeo.org>
> To: <cpeo-military@igc.topica.com>
> Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 3:20 PM
> Subject: At Close Range
> 
> > California
> > THE FRESNO BEE
> > At Close Range
> > Madera County homes were built on former bombing-practice site.
> > By Charles McCarthy
> > (Updated Friday, February 6, 2004, 10:03 AM)
> >
> > High-altitude bomb drops and low-level rocket and machine-gun fire at a
> > Madera County military practice range 60 years ago left a hazardous
> > legacy in today's Bonadelle Ranchos subdivision.
> >
> > More than 2,500 people now live in a rural subdivision built atop the
> > former 6-square-mile World War II bombing range along Highway 145, about
> > four miles west of Highway 41.
> >
> > They didn't expect that fields and construction sites with antiquated
> > explosive devices -- some still live -- would join the list of
> > challenges suburb pioneers typically face.
> >
> > At least four military devices found in the rural community were handed
> > over to the Sheriff's Department in the past four years, including one
> > found last month within 30 yards of a home. It's not known how many more
> > have been picked up and never reported, but one area man says he's found
> > dozens of projectiles in the 12 years he's lived there and sold them as
> > scrap.
> >
> > And though nobody's been injured, sheriff's officials say the ordnance
> > is potentially fatal and warn people to stay away if they stumble across
> > pieces.
> >
> > The bombs were dropped by Army and Navy pilots on what was then open
> > rangeland for four years ending in 1946. That year, the military picked
> > up 15,000 pieces of bombs and rockets during a surface sweep, but didn't
> > delve underground.
> >
> > "They went in there and picked up everything they could find. But they
> > didn't do any subsurface investigations," said U.S. Army Corps of
> > Engineers district cleanup manager Jerry Vincent.
> >
> > The corps says it plans to do just that. The area is one of 435 former
> > hazardous defense sites on its federal cleanup list for western states,
> > but has a low-priority rating.
> >
> > The corps expects to start clearing the former Madera Bombing Range in
> > 2040. At Madera County's rate of growth, the area could be a small city
> > by then. A Corps of Engineers property description of the Madera Bombing
> > Range land includes a caution: "This property is known or suspected to
> > contain military munitions and explosives of concern (e.g., unexploded
> > ordnance) and therefore may present an explosive hazard."
> >
> > This article can be viewed at:
> > http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/8093004p-8950487c.html
> >
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-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS.  Your generous support will ensure that our 
important work on military and environmental issues will continue.  
Please consider one of our donation options.  Thank you.
http://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0