Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Quake Damage Estimate Tops $5B at California Navy Base
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
August 15, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — Earthquakes that struck California last month caused more than $5 billion in damage to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, a sprawling desert facility where some of the military’s most advanced weapons are tested, according to an estimate made public Wednesday.

“Until that process is completed, there are no official figures. It’s all speculative at this point.” — Lee Saunders, spokesman for the southwest engineering command
A survey of nearly 3,600 buildings conducted over 13 days found that repairing or replacing damaged base buildings alone will cost about $2.2 billion, including hangars, repair facilities, offices, a laboratory, 22 ammunition magazines, an air traffic control tower and even a gym and pool, according to an overview presented to potential contractors at an Aug. 1 forum. It was posted Wednesday on the webpage of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest.
The base’s total repair and replacement cost of $5.2 billion includes buildings as well as furniture, tools, communications and other specialized equipment.
However, officials say the figures could change before an estimate finally reaches Congress. Any funding for repairs and reconstruction will require congressional and presidential approval.
“Until that process is completed, there are no official figures. It’s all speculative at this point,” said Lee Saunders, spokesman for the southwest engineering command.
Whatever the final figure, bringing the base back up to operational standards will be costly.

About 20% of the Buildings Declared Unsafe

The quakes caused serious cracks in some buildings, sheared bolts from support beams and damaged water pipes and electrical equipment. A laboratory where advanced weapons technology is tested was declared unsafe and other areas of the over 1,700-square-mile base still are not “mission capable,” the Navy Times reported.

“There was damage to a majority of the buildings and infrastructure.” — Capt. Mark K. Edelson, commanding officer of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest
“There was damage to a majority of the buildings and infrastructure,” according to an email from Capt. Mark K. Edelson, commanding officer of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, the Navy Times reported.
The email said about 20% of the buildings have been declared unsafe or have had their use restricted.
The email also said more than half of the base buildings date from before 1980 and some go back to World War II, so many didn’t meet current earthquake safety standards.
The Mojave Desert base east of Los Angeles was near the epicenter of quakes that struck July 4 through July 12. They include a 6.4 temblor on Independence Day, a magnitude 7.1 quake the next day and thousands of aftershocks.
Authorities have estimated the quakes, which were felt in several states, damaged at least 100 homes and businesses, causing at least $100 million in damage mainly to the sparsely populated communities of Ridgecrest and Trona.
The China Lake base is about 3 miles north of Ridgecrest.

DON'T MISS

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

DON'T MISS

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

DON'T MISS

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

DON'T MISS

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

UP NEXT

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

UP NEXT

NFL Postpones Tush Push Decision but Passes Other Rule Changes, AP Source Says

UP NEXT

March Madness: It’s South Carolina vs. Texas and UCLA vs. UConn in Women’s Final Four

UP NEXT

Major Layoffs Begin at Health Agencies That Track Disease and Regulate Food

UP NEXT

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

UP NEXT

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

UP NEXT

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

UP NEXT

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

8 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

8 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

8 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

9 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

9 hours ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

10 hours ago

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

10 hours ago

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

10 hours ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

10 hours ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

11 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s wealthiest individual, according to Forbes’ 39th annual World’s Billio...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

7 hours ago

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

Nassau Hall at Princeton University is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP File)
7 hours ago

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

After 31 years of service, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy IV and Pilot Michael Sill is retiring, having logged over 10,000 flight hours.
8 hours ago

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
8 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

8 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

9 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

Vehicles at an Audi showroom in Miami, March 29, 2025. President Donald Trump has said that tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to move to the U.S. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)
9 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend