Gridlock reigned Saturday on one of California’s most vital freeways after state officials closed a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 in response to a pre-planned event in which live-fire artillery rounds were shot over the freeway at Camp Pendleton.
The full closure of the main route between Los Angeles and San Diego was brief, but it caused massive traffic jams across San Diego and Orange counties. Exits from the freeway onto surface streets were clogged. Many motorists were forced to take a jammed Interstate 15. The inland detour swelled drive times from L.A. to San Diego to well over three hours as of Saturday afternoon. That was an hour-long delay during typical conditions.
The closure marked another clash between the Trump administration and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom criticized the White House for failing to coordinate or share safety information ahead of the Marine Corps 250th anniversary celebration, which featured Vice President JD Vance.
“It is not safe for people to drive on a major freeway at high speeds directly under LIVE MUNITIONS,” his office wrote on X. “White House not communicating, endangering the public, and then trying to blame the Governor for doing the right thing — keeping people out of harm’s way — yet another day living in Trump’s authoritarian America,” the post said.
Administration officials said the Camp Pendleton event was perfectly safe and that a freeway closure was not needed.
“Gavin Newsom wants people to think this exercise is dangerous,” said William Martin, the communications director for Vance, in a statement.
Oceanside’s assistant police chief John McKean said that while the full closure lasted only a little over an hour, the California Highway Patrol planned to conduct a traffic break when the ammunition fired.
“It’s not like they’re going to get hit by explosives or anything like that, it’s just loud booms, and it may frighten [drivers when the rounds are] going to go off, because it’s going to be going off for about a good 15 or 20 minutes,” McKean said.
Mid-morning on Saturday the southbound 5 Freeway grounded to a halt about half a mile ahead of the El Camino Real exit, the second-to-last exit before the previously announced interstate closure.
The previous three freeway exits — Avenida Palizada, Avenida Pico and Avenida Vista Hermosa — all had flashing freeways signs warning of the impending closure.
Motorists who were brave or foolish enough to venture beyond Avenida Palizada endured a minimum of 30 minutes trying to exit the freeway.
San Clemente City Councilmember Mark Enmeier said that the freeway closure came “completely out of the blue” and that he found out about it just as many residents did on Saturday morning when the Orange County Sheriff’s Department announced it publicly on Instagram.
“There was no coordination with any local officials on this whatsoever,” Enmeier said. Or if there was, he said, “I was not informed of it.”
Interstate 5 was closed temporarily Saturday after military officials confirmed live-fire artillery rounds would be shot over the freeway.
(Jonathan Alcorn/For The Times)
The mid-morning closure stretched from Harbor Drive in Oceanside to Basilone Road near San Onofre.
Some vehicles on the interstate illegally made nearly 90-degree turns on the freeway heading southbound to break through the bottleneck by exiting the vacant El Camino Real onramp for about 15 minutes. A California Highway Patrol officer eventually rode up the ramp and shut off access.
McKean told The Times he’s been in meetings with Camp Pendleton officials about the celebration for the last month. The closure of the interstate “came up overnight from Governor Newsom’s office.”
In a statement to The Times, the city of Oceanside said it was notified of the interstate closure at 7:30 a.m. via a California Highway Patrol update.
“Marine Corps was not even aware that [the interstate] was going to be closed, this was something from Sacramento to Cal Trans to CHP,” McKean said.
The assistant police chief has lived in the Oceanside area since 1996 and said this is the first time “any training other than fires that I can remember closing down the I-5, this is not a normal thing.”
McKean also said he has spent 20 years in the Marine Corps and “I’ve had artillery shot over me plenty of times,” but he said, “it can be a distraction for drivers, for sure, and I think Governor is doing it in abundance of caution.”
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The governor’s office said it was informed earlier in the week that the White House was considering closing the freeway and when no order materialized by Wednesday, state officials began weighing whether to do so themselves. Driving that decision, they said, were safety concerns about reports that live ordnance would be fired over the freeway and onto the base.
Newsom’s office said Thursday it was told no live fire would go over the freeway, only to be informed Friday that the military event organizers asked the California Department of Transportation for a sign along the I-5 that read “Overhead fire in progress.”
Earlier Saturday morning, the state was told that live rounds were scheduled to be shot over the freeway around 1:30 p.m, prompting California Highway Patrol officials to recommend the freeway closure because of the potential safety risk and likelihood it would distract drivers.
In San Clemente, Saturday’s brunch specials at the SC Cafe included mimosas, Bloody Marys and beers along with avocado toast, eggs Benedict and breakfast burritos.
Nearly every table at the corner eatery right off the 5 Freeway was filled with local and seasonal European tourists.
Yet business was a “a bit slow” that day, according to the staff and cafe owner Joey Abi-Loutfi, due in part to the freeway shutdown.
“I heard about the traffic from the news a day earlier and wasn’t exactly sure what to think,” Abi-Loutfi said. “That’s the give and take of owning a restaurant right next to a freeway ramp.”
Abi-Loutfi said traffic and slowdowns have been a boon to his business in the past.
Jackknifed big rigs translated into frustrated drivers pulling over and grabbing a bite at the 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily establishment.
“People will wait out the traffic with some food,” said Abi-Loutfi, who’s owned the eatery for 27 years.
Abi-Loutfi said he’s not thrilled about this shutdown, though, aside from slower-than-usual business, due to the government’s show of force in firing off weapons.
“What a great use of funding,” he said with a sarcasm thicker than his restaurant’s chunky salsa.
A cyclist manuvers around safety cones signalling that Interstate 5 freeway is closed on Saturday.
(Jonathan Alcorn/For The Times)
Saturday’s closure brought a deepening strain between California and the Trump administration — which has been escalating in recent months after the White House deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles to clamp down on protests, ramped up immigration raids and pressured California universities to comply with his agenda.
To Enmeier, the live-ammunition event is a “show of force on behalf of a few individuals” more than likely intentionally timed to this day of widespread protest. Plus, he said the freeway closure is a source of needless financial strain.
“Not only are we paying as a taxpayer for these shows of force, we’re also losing money,” Enmeier said. “I mean, this is a major arterial road, and there’s no other way down to San Diego from Orange County without taking an hour-and-a-half detour.”
The Marine Corps said in a statement that Saturday’s event would be a “historic Amphibious Capabilities Demonstration, showcasing the strength and unity of the Navy-Marine Corps team and ensuring we remain ready to defend the Homeland and our Nation’s interests abroad.”
A spokesperson for the Marines said artillery was shot from Red Beach into designated ranges on Friday evening as 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 military show of force coincides with “No Kings” rallies and marches across the state Saturday challenging President Trump and what critics say is government overreach. Dozens of protests are scheduled Saturday across Southern California, with more than 2,700 demonstrations expected across the country.
During “No Kings” protests in June, Trump held a military parade in Washington, D.C., which included a 21-gun salute, to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary.
“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,” Newsom said in a statement. “Law and order? This is chaos and confusion.”
The Marine Corps said in a statement to The Times on Thursday that a detailed risk assessment was conducted and “no highways or transportation routes will be closed” for the event titled “Sea to Shore — A Review of Amphibious Strength.”
Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis of the I Marine Expeditionary Force said that no ordnance will be fired from a U.S. Navy ship during the event, but Marines will fire high explosive rounds from artillery known as M777 Howitzers into designated ranges “with all safety precautions in place.” Simulated explosives and visual effects will also be used, he said.
The Trump administration previously had plans for a major celebration next month for the 250th anniversary of the Navy and Marines, which would have included an air and sea show — with the Blue Angels and parading warships — to be attended by Trump, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Plans to host that show in San Diego have been called off, the paper reported.
Camp Pendleton is a 125,000-acre base in northwestern San Diego County that has been critical in preparing troops for amphibious missions since World War II thanks to its miles of beach and coastal hills. The U.S. Department of Defense is considering making a portion of the base available for development or lease.
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