Photo By Sgt. Maj. Casey Nelsen | Marines from the 1st Marine Logistics Group remove the skid plate from the bottom of a...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The morning of February 9, 2025, was anything but typical for many Marines across the 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force. Based out of Camp Pendleton, the once-in-a-generation fires were still burning in the Eaton and Pacific Palisades communities of Los Angeles, only an hour’s drive north. That morning, only 96 hours after notification, a coalition of U.S. Service members totaling 89 departed for these impacted areas to assist in the clearing and neutralization of hazardous material.
Task Force Atlas was comprised of 68 Marines and Sailors organic to 1st MLG, 11 Chemical, Biological Incident Response Force Marines from Indianhead, Maryland, and Hazardous Materials Technician Airmen.
TF Atlas was composited in only a few short days, with heavy equipment and service members assembled from different units to accomplish the daunting mission of Defense Support of Civil Authorities and assist a devastated community in need of relief.
Over the following eight days, TF Atlas cleared more than 160 parcels of land and over 350 pieces of HAZMAT, 13 days faster than the Environmental Protection Agency had projected. The efficiency and dedication with which the team worked may surprise many, after all, many of the service members had never met one another before setting out for their mission. For Maj. Jeffery Medeiros, the officer in charge of TF Atlas, however, the tenacity of his team was not a shock.
“Everybody rose to the occasion,” said Medeiros, “Sailors, airmen, and Marines at all levels stepped up to make it happen.”
TF Atlas concentrated its efforts at two locations impacted most by the fires, Eaton and Pacific Palisades. Teams at both locations worked tirelessly to remove electronic vehicle batteries, electric storage systems, and household HAZMAT.
After removing the HAZMAT from the sites, they transported it to pre-coordinated locations where the EPA and HAZMAT professionals rendered it inert before disposing of it. This process, learned in the wake of the devastating Maui fires in 2023, enabled the rabid disposal of HAZMAT and expedited the clearing of dangerous material.
The effect of lessons learned proved vital to eliminating the threat of thermal runaway, where damaged batteries spontaneously catch fire and cannot be extinguished immediately with water. The quick collection and processing of these lithium-ion batteries mitigated the threat of dangerous chemicals spreading to the communities impacted by the fires.
For many, the mission of TF Atlas epitomized their reason for joining the military service.
Gunnery Sgt. David Gonzalez, a native of Bell Gardens, CA, said, “It was almost surreal – it is not every day that you get to be a part of a tangible effort to help out so close to home.”
He recalled watching the fires from his mother-in-law’s home while on leave and volunteered to be a part of TF Atlas, curtailing a temporary assigned duty to do so.
The impact of TF Atlas cannot be overstated. Through their efforts, families were able to return to homes, though devastated, to begin the long and arduous task of rebuilding their lives, without the fear of hazardous material.
Maj. Medeiros, who had family directly impacted by the Eaton fire said, “We went out to help people. Help them get back to a sense of normalcy, even if that is only a few months sooner.”
| Date Taken: | 02.23.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2025 13:01 |
| Story ID: | 495376 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Task Force Atlas - U.S. Servicemembers Respond to L.A. Fires, by 1LT Tyler Judd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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