The 5 Freeway will close for four hours today, Oct. 18, from Harbor Drive to Basilone Road, during a Camp Pendleton event that expects Vice President J.D. Vance to be in attendence.
The closure starts at 11 a.m., according to a CHP post on X. It will prevent travel between Orange and San Diego counties. Metrolink service between the two counties had previously been canceled for the afternoon.
Camp Pendleton is hosting a training exhibition at its oceanfront range, Red Beach, along the 5 Freeway, which is scheduled to include Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John C. Phelan and Gen. Eric Smith, the commandant of the Marine Corps, giving remarks.
The mock assault is being called America’s Marines 250: From Sea to Shore – A Review of Amphibious Strength, and is part of a series of celebration for the service branch’s anniversary.
Earlier in the week, Gov. Gavin Newsom raised the possibility of the freeway needing to be closed by the event, but the Marines, which often do similar training at Red Beach, said it would not be necessary.
“All training events will occur on approved training ranges and comply with established safety protocols,” Lt. Col. Lindsay Pirek, a spokesperson for the I Marine Expeditionary Force overseeing the planning, said late Wednesday. “No public highways or transportation routes will be closed.”
But in an early Saturday morning press release, the governor’s office said, “Late on Friday, the state then received notice from event organizers asking for CalTrans signage to be posted along the I-5 freeway that would read: ‘Overhead fire in progress.’”
And state officials near the base saw live munitions being fired near the freeway, the governor’s office said.
So state officials said the decision was made to close the freeway from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., based on the recommendation of traffic safety experts at the California Highway Patrol.
“The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety. Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous. Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with isn’t strength — it’s reckless, it’s disrespectful, and it’s beneath the office he holds. Law and order? This is chaos and confusion.”
The White House and Marines could not be immediately reached for comment. An automatic response from the White House noted there may be delays because of the government shutdown.
The base exercise comes amid the government shutdown that is now on its 18th day.