Borrego Hotel Photos

FUDS Program Links

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Safety is a Priority

3Rs logo

Follow the 3Rs of Explosives Safety
if you suspect you may have come
across a military munition.
 
Recognize – when you may have
come across a munition and that
munitions are dangerous.
 
Retreat – do not approach, touch,
move or disturb it, but carefully
leave the area.
 
Report – call 911 and advise the police
of what you saw and where you saw it.

Borrego Hotel

The Former Borrego Hotel Target Area and Emergency Landing Field site encompasses approximately 222 acres of desert in San Diego County, California. The site is situated east of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and approximately 3.5 miles southeast of the town of Ocotillo Wells.

In July 1941, the U.S. Navy acquired 160 acres of land for the San Diego Naval Air Station. The Navy constructed a 250-foot by 2,600-foot dirt runway. In addition, a bombing target consisting of three concentric circles was developed on the site. The Navy used the site for high-altitude bombing, dive bombing, strafing (firing automatic weapons by aircraft on ground targets) and emergency landing activities. The site was active from 1941 through 1955, at which time it was declared excess to the needs of the Navy. In 1956, the federal government sold the property to a private landowner.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began investigating the Former Borrego Hotel Target Area and Emergency Landing Field in 1994 through the Formerly Used Defense Sites, or FUDS, Program. Since that time the Corps of Engineers has identified that practice bombs, projectiles and small arms may remain on the site due to former military training activities.

The Corps of Engineers presented the selected remedy for the site in the 2016 Borrego Hotel Decision Document. The remedy involves a ground surface removal of munitions and explosives of concern, and a community information campaign to educate landowners and other future users about potential hazards that may remain at the site. The Corps of Engineers will also conduct long-term management, including five-year reviews, to assess whether the remedy remains effective in protecting human health and the environment.

An Administrative Record containing copies of the Corps of Engineers’ reports and investigations has been compiled and is available for public review at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District office. Interested parties may contact the Corps of Engineers at the number provided below to schedule a time to review the documents.

Contact Information

For more information about the Borrego Hotel FUDS, please call the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District Public Affairs Office at 213-452-3921.

To learn more about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ FUDS Program, please click here.