The Army’s new proposal to clear a 6,500-acre munitions area of Fort Ord with prescribed burns is rekindling opposition from environmental activists.

The Army recently released a plan to remove the slew of rockets, artillery projectiles, grenades and land mines from the so-called “Track 3” site, which is east of Seaside between Eucalyptus and South Boundary roads. To clear the chaparral, the Army wants to burn as much as 800 acres a year in approximately 100-acre batches. Removal teams would then sift out mortars and detonate the active munitions on site.

But opponents say the Army will be igniting toxic waste and once again putting residents who inhale the smoke in danger. “There is just a lot of stuff out there,” says Vienna Merritt Moore, interim chair of the Fort Ord Community Advisory Group (FOCAG) and founder of Say No to Fort Ord’s Toxic Burning. “All those heavy metals, all those volatile chemicals, we don’t have to have that in our community.”

FOCAG and environmental group Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment (HOPE) are reiterating their demand for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which would depict the burn’s environmental effects. The organizations want an independent study of the smoke’s health effects and a thorough analysis of alternatives to burning.

“The Army has avoided genuine environmental analysis even though they’ve been asked to do it for almost 10 years,” says David Dilworth, executive director of HOPE. Dilworth says the Army could use helicopters with ordnance-detecting magnets to locate explosives and then mechanically remove the vegetation.

Gail Youngblood, Base Realignment and Closure coordinator for Fort Ord, says the “Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study” for Track 3 is the functional equivalent of an EIS. She says burning remains the preferred plan because it safely clears vegetation for removal workers and also rejuvenates the maritime chaparral.

Eric Morgan, Fort Ord manager for the Bureau of Land Management, agrees. Once the Army cleans the Track 3 area it will be turned over to BLM as a habitat reserve. Morgan says fire helps break down the hardened seed coat of several species in the manzanita family so it can germinate. “The number of species that comes back following the fire is double or more than what you get from just cutting,” Morgan says.

Moore says she understands that fire helps the native plants reproduce. But she says this shouldn’t outweigh the harmful effects of the smoke. “Our lives will not germinate with fire,” she says.

A report by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry that examined air pollution from the October 2003 burn found the smoke to be “no apparent public health hazard.” This fire burned out of control, scorching more than 1,500 acres, when the Army had planned to only light 500. More than 80 people called the Army’s hotline to complain, some noting difficulty breathing and eye irritation.

In that burn, acrolein, aluminum and particulate matter were detected above safe levels, the report says. Acrolein, used to make chemical weapons in World War I, can cause watery eyes and sore throat. High levels of particulate matter can cause respiratory irritation for people with asthma.

Controlled burn critics say the report was flawed because it did not include people who were hospitalized during the burn. According to the Monterey County Health Department, at least five people sought treatment for smoke-related illnesses during the ‘03 burn.

The Army’s consultants did more air monitoring during the most recent 80-acre burn in October 2006. Samples for particulate matter were below state standards at all locations except one, Spreckels School. (The report says this was due to an agricultural burn and a plowed field nearby.)

At that time, the Fort Ord Environmental Justice Network protested that the Army didn’t consider the burning of red oak, lead-contaminated soil and munitions in the air monitoring report. “Everyone is impacted, especially those who are experiencing respiratory problems, asthmas, and other ailments for years of exposure,” the organization wrote. “The elderly can experience strokes and heart attacks. Children are experiencing increased asthma levels.”

The Army’s next burn will likely take place in October or November when it sets fire to as much as 150 acres near Del Rey Oaks, Youngblood says. The Army will wait for wind conditions that pull smoke up and out of the area before lighting the blaze.  

But Moore doubts that fire fighters can contain a 150-acre blaze. She says large projectiles can shoot out some 4,000 feet and start other fires, making a “controlled burn” nearly impossible. Unpredictable weather could also fumigate the Peninsula with smoke. “They could start the fire and in 20 minutes the wind could change, while it is blazing, and whip it up into our community,” she says.

Locals will have to endure the smoke or pay for lodging outside of the area – the Army doesn’t plan to relocate residents. For people suffering from asthma and other respiratory conditions, the Army offers this advice: Keep windows closed and stay indoors.  

THE PUBLIC CAN COMMENT ON THE ARMY’S PLAN UNTIL AUG. 27. FORTORDCLEANUP.COM OR 393-1284.