‘0% malfunction rate,’ until now: How military’s plan to fire munitions over I-5 went awry
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It was supposed to be a boisterous event at Camp Pendleton celebrating 250 years of the U.S. Marine Corps that included a live simulation of a beach assault by sea and air.
The plan involved Marines firing high explosive rounds from M777 howitzers — artillery used to launch shells in wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine — into designated ranges. Federal officials last week insisted it would be done with “all safety precautions in place” and said no public highways would be closed.
But California officials last week expressed fears about those live rounds being fired over Interstate 5, which runs between the beach where the “landing” was taking place and the rest of the sprawling military installation.
Then, on Friday evening, the Marines did a test run, firing artillery rounds over I-5, according to the governor’s office, while motorists drove on the freeway. The California Department of Transportation captured the live fire on video.
Early Saturday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the closure that day of a 17-mile stretch of the interstate — from just south of San Clemente to just north of Oceanside — during the event, which an estimated 15,000 attended and included a speech by Vice President JD Vance.
Now, the California Highway Patrol is reporting that a CHP cruiser parked on an onramp of Interstate 5 was hit by falling shrapnel after an artillery round exploded midair, far earlier than intended, forcing an early end to the artillery demonstration. Although no one was hurt, the revelations raised new questions about safety issues and whether it was wise to fire live munitions over a freeway.
The Marine Corps is investigating the incident. The artillery round that exploded prematurely came from the first volley fired from M777 howitzers at Red Beach, Lt. Col. Lindsay Pirek, a spokesperson for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, told the Los Angeles Times on Monday.
Although one round detonated in midflight, the four remaining rounds in that volley hit their intended target at the base, Pirek said. Upon learning of the midair explosion, the Marines canceled the remaining 55 rounds they’d planned to fire.
Pirek said that, until now, the weapons system used had “pretty much a 0% malfunction rate.” The system has been approved to be used in warfare to launch shells over friendly forces to target the enemy.
The Marine Corps has said that shells from M777 artillery pieces have been fired over Interstate 5 previously without the need to close the route. The Marine Corps hasn’t yet answered questions on when, or how often, that has happened.
A source with knowledge of operations at the base told The Times that artillery such as the M777 howitzer isn’t fired at Camp Pendleton very frequently, and firing it over the freeway is extremely rare. In fact, none of Camp Pendleton’s artillery firing areas are along the beaches west of Interstate 5, according to maps of the Marine Corps base.
An expert on defense policy and strategy said firing artillery over any location with large groups of people is inherently risky, even though the weapons are manufactured in a highly vetted process.
“If there is a premature explosion or something like that ... shrapnel over a populated area would be a main concern,” said Carlton Haelig, a fellow with the defense program at the Center for a New American Security.
Here is the chain of events that led to a tumultuous day of military pride, traffic gridlock and confusion:
Wednesday
A report was widely circulated saying the White House intended to shut Interstate 5 amid plans to shoot missiles from Navy warships into Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps’ 125,000-acre base along the coast of northern San Diego County.
Newsom’s press office responded to the report on social media, calling the idea “an absurd show of force.”
Late Wednesday night, the Marine Corps posted a statement on X saying it intended to hold a “live-fire” demonstration on Saturday at Camp Pendleton and that no public highways or transportation routes would be closed.
“All training events will occur on approved training ranges and comport with established safety protocols,” the statement said, adding that the White House would film the demonstration to be included in a national prime-time broadcast on Nov. 9.
Thursday
The Marine Corps said no ordnance would be fired from a Navy ship to the shore. The demonstration would involve the firing of high explosive rounds from M777 howitzers into designated ranges, the Marine Corps said.
The M777 howitzer, used by the Marine Corps since 2005, uses 155 mm artillery rounds. Each round has a diameter of about 6.1 inches; weighs around 100 pounds; is about 2 feet long; and is made up of a detonating fuse, projectile, propellant and primer.
A malfunction of the fuse is a potential reason for the premature explosion, according to Pirek.
The fuse is screwed into the front of the shell. There are different types of fuses — an “impact fuse” is designed to detonate when it hits the ground, covering the enemy in shrapnel. A “proximity fuse” is designed to detonate in the air when it’s close to the target. The Marine Corps hasn’t yet disclosed what type of fuse was used last week.
The M777 howitzer is a frequently used artillery weapon in the war in Ukraine.
The M777 howitzer generally has a range of 13 to 20 miles, although certain techniques can extend the range up to 25 miles.
Newsom’s office said that the Marine Corps on Thursday confirmed that the exercise would be conducted on training ranges, as is done routinely at the base, but not over Interstate 5.
State officials had been weighing whether to order the closure of the freeway themselves — but by Thursday morning, amid the new assurances, they backed off of those plans.
That afternoon, however, the federal government directed the cancellation of Amtrak and Metrolink train service along tracks that run parallel to Interstate 5 through Camp Pendleton, according to Newsom’s office.
Friday
State officials observed the M777 howitzers launch shells over Interstate 5 from Red Beach on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Marines later said the firing was part of a dress rehearsal.
“M777 artillery pieces have historically been fired during routine training from land-based artillery firing points west of the I-5 into impact areas east of the interstate within existing safety protocols and without the need to close the route,” the statement said. “This is an established and safe practice.”
The firing of the shells over the freeway during Friday night’s dress rehearsal was done without notifying state officials, the governor’s office has said.
Pirek disputed that, saying the military was in contact with state officials about Friday’s dress rehearsal and worked with authorities to light up electronic signs over the 5 Freeway warning about weapons fire over the roadway. She said the practice rounds were delayed from 1:45 to 5 p.m. to ensure officials were able to put up the warning signs.
The dress rehearsal took place between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Friday, with a total of 30 rounds fired from the M777 Howitzers, according to Pirek.
When asked to comment, the governor’s office referred questions to California transportation officials, who were working on answering The Times’ questions.
CHP Border Division Chief Tony Coronado later said in a statement that “it is highly uncommon for any live-fire or explosive training activity to occur over an active freeway.”
“As a Marine myself, I have tremendous respect for our military partners, but my foremost responsibility is ensuring the safety of the people of California and the officers who protect them,” Coronado said.
The CHP is not aware of live fire occurring over Interstate 5 in the past, a spokesperson said.
Late Friday night, referring to a report that the military did, in fact, plan to fire live artillery on Saturday over Interstate 5 after all, Newsom on X called the plans “a profoundly absurd show of force that could put Californians directly in harm’s away.”
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Saturday
Newsom’s office issued a statement early Saturday saying that state officials were informed by federal authorities that live-fire activities would occur at 1:30 p.m.
Newsom’s office and Caltrans announced that morning there would be a closure of a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 during the demonstration “due to safety concerns.”
Although the closure was brief, it led to jammed freeways, stretching the travel time between L.A. and San Diego to three hours, an hour longer than is typical.
“Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous,” Newsom said in a news release issued just after 7 a.m.
The White House’s Rapid Response Team on X criticized Newsom for closing the 5 Freeway. “Not only did nobody at the White House or the Marines ask him to do so, the Marines repeatedly said there are no public safety concerns with today’s exercises,” said the post, which went up just after 11 a.m.
At 12:51 p.m., a California Highway Patrol protective services detail escorted Vance to the Camp Pendleton event. After Vance arrived, the detail was ordered to wait at the Las Pulgas Road on-ramp to the southbound Interstate 5.
The CHP stopped I-5 traffic from just south of San Clemente to just north of Oceanside around 1:15 p.m.
At 1:46 p.m., an artillery round from the M777 howitzer was launched from a beach northward, according to a CHP incident report obtained by The Times. The report said that “an artillery round failed to clear the roadway and detonated midflight. ... The explosion sent shrapnel toward” the CHP protective services detail.
An unoccupied CHP patrol vehicle was hit by metal shrapnel and was damaged. The shrapnel that struck the patrol vehicle was about 2 inches by 2½ inches. The shrapnel left what was described as a “small dent/scratch” on the vehicle’s hood.
A CHP motorcycle officer heard debris falling on his motorcycle and an area around 3 feet from him, and later found a piece of shrapnel about an inch in length and half an inch wide near the motorcycle. The motorcycle was not damaged.
No one was injured.
A live video feed of the demonstration showed Vance observing the demonstration with a view overlooking the shoreline. At one point, a rat-a-tat-tat could be heard on the microphone, and an announcer said, “Thuuunderrrr. The guns recoil. The earth shakes and 1-5-5 mm shell tears through the air. ... Steel rain inbound.”
After a few more words, though, the announcer largely fell silent.
The CHP incident report said the Marines originally planned for about 60 artillery rounds to be fired over a period of five minutes, from 1:46 p.m. to 1:51 p.m.
But after the artillery round exploded earlier than intended, raining debris down on the CHP, “the exercise was terminated and no additional munitions were fired,” the incident report said.
In a statement to The Times on Sunday night, Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis, spokesperson for the First Marine Expeditionary Force, said the Marines had launched an investigation based on the report of the possible airborne detonation of a 155 mm artillery round outside the designated impact area.
“The demonstration went through a rigorous safety evaluation, and deliberate layers of redundancy, to ensure the safety of fellow citizens,” the statement said. “We are committed to determining the incident’s root cause and applying findings to future missions.”
Dreibelbis said Marines fire artillery at Camp Pendleton nearly every week. He said systems such as the M777 “are designed to fire over the heads of friendly forces to achieve effects on our adversary. We trust this system with our lives,” and that “Marines have safely and effectively employed this system in combat operations, such as in Syria.”
Newsom on X accused President Trump and Vance of putting “lives at risk to put on a show.”
“This could have killed someone,” he said.
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