LOS ANGELES — Camp Pendleton was set to host a raucous event to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps, including a live simulation of a beach attack from the sea and from the air.
The plan called for the Marines to fire high-explosive rounds from M777 howitzers—artillery used to launch projectiles in the wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine—at designated firing ranges. Federal officials said last week that it would be done with “every precaution” and said no public roads would be closed.
But California officials have raised concerns that the live rounds were fired over Interstate 5, which runs between the beach where the “landing” occurred and the rest of the sprawling military installation.
Then, on Friday night, the Marines conducted a test drive without notifying government officials, firing artillery shells along I-5, according to the governor's office – all while motorists drove on the freeway. The California Department of Transportation captured video of the fire.
Early Saturday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the closure that day of a 17-mile section of the interstate — from south of San Clemente to north of Oceanside — during an event attended by about 15,000 people and including a speech by Vice President J.D. Vance.
Now the California Highway Patrol says a cruiser parked at an Interstate 5 on-ramp was struck by shrapnel after an artillery shell exploded in mid-air, much earlier than expected, bringing the artillery display to an early end. Although no one was injured, the revelations raised new questions about safety concerns and whether it was wise to fire live ammunition into the freeway during the ceremony.
The Marines said they were investigating the incident.
Here is the chain of events that led to a tumultuous day of military pride, traffic jams and confusion:
There have been widespread reports that the White House intends to close Interstate 5 amid plans to fire missiles from Navy warships at Camp Pendleton, a 125,000-acre Marine Corps base located along the coast of northern San Diego County.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's press office responded to the post on social media, calling the idea an “absurd show of force.”
Late Wednesday, the Marine Corps released a statement on X saying it intends to hold a live-fire demonstration at Camp Pendleton on Saturday and that no public highways or transportation routes will be closed.
“All training activities will be conducted at approved training sites and in accordance with established safety protocols,” the statement said, adding that the White House will film the demonstration and be included in the national prime-time broadcast on November 9.
The Marine Corps said the Navy ship will not fire munitions along the shore. The demonstration will include firing high-explosive rounds from M777 howitzers at specific locations, Marine Corps officials said.
The M777 howitzer, used by the Marine Corps since 2005, uses 155mm artillery shells, meaning each shell is about 6.1 inches in diameter. Each cartridge weighs about 100 pounds.
An Associated Press article on the 155mm howitzers describes the artillery weapon as one of the most sought-after munitions in the war in Ukraine. Each cartridge is about 2 feet long and is essentially a very large bullet consisting of a detonating fuze, projectile, powder and primer.
The projectiles can be configured for a variety of purposes: they can be filled with highly explosive material, use precision guidance systems, penetrate armor or create high fragmentation capacity, the AP reports.
The M777 howitzer typically has a range of 15 to 25 miles.
Newsom's office said the Marine Corps confirmed Thursday that the exercise will be conducted on training ranges as is normally done on base, but not on Interstate 5.
State officials had been mulling whether to close the freeway themselves, but by Thursday morning, amid new assurances, they had abandoned those plans.
However, that same day, the federal government ordered the cancellation of Amtrak and Metrolink trains on tracks that parallel Interstate 5 through Camp Pendleton, according to Newsom's office.
On Friday, government officials watched as M777 howitzers fired projectiles over Interstate 5 from Red Beach.
A Marine spokesman later said the shooting was part of a dress rehearsal.
“M777 artillery pieces have historically been fired during routine training from ground artillery emplacements west of I-5 through kill zones east of the interstate within existing safety protocols and without the need for route closure,” the statement said. “This is an established and safe practice.”
Late Friday, the state also received an inquiry from event organizers that electronic bulletin boards along Interstate 5 read, “Overheard, fire in progress,” the governor's office said. (The wording seen on Saturday read: “Military weapons over the freeway.”)
CHP Border Patrol Chief Tony Coronado later said in a statement that “it is very rare for any live fire or blasting exercises to occur on an active highway.”
“As a Marine, I have the utmost respect for our military partners, but my primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of Californians and the officers who protect them,” Coronado said.
CHP is not aware of any combat fires that have occurred in the past on Interstate 5, the spokesperson said.
Late Friday, citing a report that the military was actually planning to fire live artillery over Interstate 5, Newsom on Channel X called the plans “a deeply absurd show of force that could cause direct harm to Californians.”
Newsom's office released a statement early Saturday saying state officials were informed by federal authorities that live-fire training would begin at 1:30 p.m.
Newsom's office and Caltrans announced this morning that a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 will be closed during the demonstration “due to safety concerns.”
Although the closure was short-lived, it caused highway congestion, causing travel times between Los Angeles and San Diego to increase to three hours, an hour longer than usual.
“Firing live ammunition over a busy highway is not only wrong—it's dangerous,” Newsom said in a press release issued just after 7 a.m.
The White House Rapid Response Team on X criticized Newsom for closing the 5 Freeway. “Not only did no one at the White House or the Marine Corps ask him to do this, the Marines have repeatedly stated that today's exercise does not pose any public safety concerns,” the statement, issued just after 11 a.m., said.
At 12:51 p.m., California Highway Patrol security officers escorted Vance to an event at Camp Pendleton. After Vance arrived, the squad was ordered to wait at the Las Pulgas Road exit onto Interstate 5 South.
The CHP stopped traffic on I-5 from south of San Clemente to north of Oceanside around 1:15 p.m.
According to a CHP incident report obtained by the Los Angeles Times, at 1:46 p.m., an artillery round from an M777 howitzer was fired from White's Beach in a northerly direction. The report states that “the artillery shell was unable to clear the roadway and exploded in flight… The resulting explosion sent shrapnel into” the CHP security unit.
An unoccupied CHP patrol car was struck by metal shrapnel and damaged. The shrapnel that struck the patrol car measured approximately 2 by 2.5 inches. The shrapnel left what was described as a “small dent/scratch” on the hood of the vehicle.
The CHP motorcycle officer heard debris falling on his motorcycle and an area about 3 feet away and later found a piece of shrapnel about an inch long and a half-inch wide near the motorcycle. The motorcycle was not damaged.
A live video feed of the demonstration showed Vance observing the demonstration overlooking the coastline. At one point, a “tat-tak-tak” sound was heard over the microphone, and the announcer said: “Toounderrrrr. The guns are rolling back. The ground is shaking, and 1-5-5-mm shells are exploding into the air… A rain of steel is coming.”
However, after a few more words, the announcer practically fell silent.
The CHP incident report said the Marines initially planned to fire about 60 artillery rounds over a five-minute period, from 1:46 p.m. to 1:51 p.m.
But after an artillery shell exploded earlier than expected, raining down debris on the power plant, “the exercise was terminated and no additional ammunition was fired,” the incident report said.
In a statement to The Times, Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis, a spokesman for the First Marine Expeditionary Force, said the Marines began an investigation based on a report of a possible mid-air explosion of a 155 mm artillery shell outside the designated kill zone.
“The demonstration underwent strict security assessments and deliberate duplication to ensure the safety of fellow citizens,” the statement said. “We are committed to determining the root cause of the incident and applying the findings to future missions.”
Dreibelbis said Marines fire artillery fire at Camp Pendleton almost every week. He said systems like the M777 “are designed to fire over the heads of friendly forces to impact our adversary. We trust this system with our lives” and that “Marines have used this system safely and effectively in combat operations such as in Syria.”
Newsom on X accused President Trump and Vance of “risking lives to put on a show.”
“It could have killed someone,” he said.
In a statement obtained by Fox News, the Marines said they were investigating the incident.
“The demonstration underwent a thorough security assessment and deliberate redundancy to ensure the safety of fellow citizens. In accordance with established security protocols, firing was suspended. There were no injuries and the demonstration concluded as scheduled,” Marine Expeditionary Force Communications Strategy and Operations said. “An investigation has been initiated. We are committed to determining the root cause of the incident and applying findings to future missions,” the statement said.
