Colonel Herrmann, commanding officer at MCAS Miramar, was guest at the January 2025 UCPG (University City Planning Group) meeting, on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Commanding Officer Colonel Eric Herrmann provided a community brief about fires, drones, FAA Air Traffic Control (ATC), and aviation course rules at North Island, Camp Pendleton, and MCAS Miramar. His brief was recorded and is available on UCCA’s website. The link is at the end of this post.
Summary of CO Herrmann’s brief to University City:
- Fires part 1: There was a fire at MCAS Miramar on Monday, January 13, that sparked south of the main runway. The cause is still under investigation, but it appears that there were workers in the area and in the course of their work, a spark touched off a fire. There was no aviation mishap. The Miramar aviation rescue (ARFF) and Miramar fire-rescue departments responded immediately and were assisted by San Diego FD crews and a SDFD helicopter which did water drops. The fire burned 12 acres, all of which were on MCAS Miramar federal property.
- Fires part 2: Also related to fires, CO Herrmann mentioned that the Miramar area east of the I-15 is a concern because there is lots of dry brush in that area and there are not a lot of structures that would stop a fire. They are continuing regularly scheduled brush management; and they are also considering the use of goats to help with brush management in the Federal property that is east of the 15.
- Drones: There are drone detection systems in place at the MCAS. The base is concerned about unauthorized drones because flying drones in the area and over the installation is both a safety and security issue; and it would impact training and air operations.
- FAA Air Traffic Control: CO Herrmann did not discuss specific changes in flight patterns due to Santa Ana winds but he did mention that the FAA Air Traffic Control occasionally re-routes Miramar air traffic. Both Santa Ana winds and FAA re-routing could result in aircraft flying routes other than the usual and customary. There is info about FAA Air Traffic Control and the impacts of Santa Ana wind conditions on the UCCA website at: universitycitynews.org/UCCA/SantaAnaWinds
- Aviation course rules: The commanding officers at Marine Corps Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Miramar have met with the commanding officer of Navy North Island/Coronado to review flight course rules. This came about because of community concerns about Navy and Marine Corps helicopters and rotary wing aircraft traveling to and from all three bases. For us locally, the big news about course rules is that the Marine Corps and Navy North Island flight operations are involved in the discussion and now everybody is aware of everybody else’s course rules. Nothing has changed that we would notice in our University City community. The Miramar aviation course rules are the same as they have been; and they are being enforced by the Miramar Operations Dept and CO Herrmann.
For reference and more information:
- The Miramar course rules are described in the AICUZ; available here: miramar.marines.mil/Resources/Air-Installations-Compatible-Use-Zones/
- The airport operations, departure and arrival procedures for the Miramar airport (KNKX) are summarized here: airnav.com/airport/KNKX
- MCAS Miramar homepage: miramar.marines.mil
- MCB Camp Pendelton homepage: pendleton.marines.mil
- NB North Island/Coronado home page: cnrsw.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NAVBASE-Coronado/
- If you would like to listen to Colonel Herrmann‘s presentation, it is available on UCCA‘s website and starts at approximately 8 minutes into the recording. Available at: universitycitynews.org/UCCA/UCPGJan2025