The former Mt. Laguna Air Force Station Operations Area (just above the Mt. Laguna Air Force Station Cantonment Area) is now an abandoned, burned-out collection of buildings on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest and the Anza-Borrego Desert. The location is, literally, on the high-altitude cusp of wet, green leaves and dry, brown dirt — where forest meets desert. Located near mile marker 24 on San Diego County Route S-1 (a.k.a. Sunrise Highway) and north of I-8, this former U.S. Air Force post is now dormant and used by the FAA.
The rumors spoke of airstrips, bomb shelters & abandoned buildings and two of three were true (there’s no airstrip). When we rolled up on the spot, there was a formal High Wind Advisory and the temperature was below 50 degrees. Despite cold and wind the vantage point was superb and the fresh, brisk air was refreshing.
Operations Area – Aerial Photo (1979)
Radar Dishes (1969)
Radar Dish with Moon (2002)
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“Operations at this peak began in April 1952. Within two months the radar assumed coverage formerly provided by the Minter Field Lashup site (L-34). At that time the 751st AC&W Squadron operated AN/CPS-4 and AN/FPS-3 radars.
An AN/FPS-8 replaced the AN/CPS-4 in 1955. This radar then was converted to an AN/GPS-3 in 1956, and removed in 1960. 1956 also saw the arrival of an AN/FPS-6 at the site.
The site became integrated into the SAGE system in 1961. By 1962 the 751st operated an AN/FPS-7C search radar and AN/FPS-6 and 6B height-finder radars. In 1963 the -6B was upgraded to an AN/FPS-90 set. In 1964 the AN/FPS-6 was replaced by an AN/FPS-26A FD height-finder radar; this radar was converted to an AN/FSS-7 SLBM D&W radar in 1966. Mt. Laguna became a joint-use ADC/FAA facility around 1965.
In 1979 the facility came under TAC jurisdiction.
In the 1980s the FAA assumed greater control, replacing the AN/FPS-7E with an ARSR-3 search radar, leaving the Air Force only responsible for the height-finder tower (by then an AN/FPS-116), which was removed circa 1988.
In the late 1990s, the ARSR-3 was replaced by the ARSR-4.”
References: ‘Searching the Skies’; misc. ADCOM documents; eyewitness accounts.” Quote & B&W Photos from RADOMES.ORG
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“I was a Philco TechRep at the 751st AC&W from July of 1956 to Sept. of 1957. The ‘FPS-6 was the replacement for the ‘CPS-4 height finder. It must have been installed no later than 1955. Its s/n was #34 a I recall. The ‘GPS-3 was a ‘FPS-8 a search set without the extras (PPI scopes & phone system etc.) for use as a backup for the ‘FPS-3. It was installed in late 1956 or early ‘57.”
Comment submitted by Don Helgeson
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The flat-roofed building pictured above was the base for a giant parabolic dish atop its roof. The catwalk once made it possible to go around the dish when it was up there — now it’s a great place to catch a panoramic view. The first floor connects to the second floor with stairs while the second floor connects to the roof only by ladder, one inside and one outside.
Trashed by vandals and strewn with broken beer bottles, the place is a mess. Watch out for all of the shoe-size holes in the floor or you could easily break a leg. The only way to the roof is via ladder, one inside and one outside.
B-1 Entrance
First Floor Interior
Second Floor Interior
Second Floor Machinery
Second Floor Interior Ladder to Roof
B1 Roof Mounts
East View From Roof
East Panorama From Catwalk
View of Car Park from Roof
View of New Forestry Station
Roof Towards Exterior Ladder
Roof Exterior Ladder to Second Floor
Who knows what the giant parabolic dish that sat here was monitoring? The catwalk lets us know that it was big and rotated 360 degrees. Though the catwalk goes around the entire building, the east view is the most spectacular as it looks towards the Salten Sea, Ocatillo, Calexico and Mexicali.
B-2 Front
South Side of Office Building
Exterior Concrete Wall Damage
Above are pics of the north side of the office building where the Air Force C4 Agency handled it’s business during the Cold War. Mostly reinforced concrete, with a later addition aluminum frame and dry wall add-on, the entire place was destroyed by fire. Fire damage is still evident in the surrounding foliage.
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“The [building above was] formerly part of the 751st RADS, for two-way voice and digital communications with fighter-interceptor aircraft [and] was apparently taken over by the Air Force Communication Service around 1979 or 1980, accounting for the signs [on the doors inside the building].
“The Army Air Corps established the Army Airways Communications System in 1938 to provide air-to-ground and ground-to-air communications between aeronautical stations in the United States to promote safety and simplify flying operations. AACS’s secondary mission was to provide point-to-point communications between ground radio stations. The system’s mission continued to grow through World War II and, in 1946, it was redesignated Airways and Air Communications Service.
“The 1960s brought challenge and revolution to Air Force communications. AACS changed to the Air Force Communications Service, and became the Air Force’s 16th major command July 1, 1961. On the 41st anniversary of the establishment of the Army Airways Communications System, the Air Force Communications Command was established Nov. 15, 1979. AFCC became a field operating agency July 1, 1991, changed its name to Air Force Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Agency May 28, 1993 and was redesignated Air Force Communications Agency on June 13, 1996.”
Quote from RADOMES.ORG
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The mission of the Communications Agency: “As the technical arm of HQ USAF, Communications and Information, the agency ensures integration and interoperability among command, control, communications and computer (C4) systems across the Air Force. It does this by developing and validating C4 architectures, technical standards, technical reference codes, policies, processes and procedures, and technical solutions.”
Quote from USAF.COM
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The remains of two matching Air Force insignia on burnt doors indicate that this AFC4A post became an Air Firce Communications Command post when the designation changed in 1996. Many things can be surmised about its mission given the post’s large parabolic dishes, proximity to México and the Pacific and perch on a mountain over a vast and mostly unpopulated desert valley…
Just inside the ground floor it becomes evident that it’s very dark inside and flashlights are necessary in areas to avoid possible injury from the rusty metal debris. The temperature in this fire that destroyed the building reached 2000 degrees and caused giant steel beams to bend. The intense fire left bent and twisted metal in just about every room.
There is not ladder and the stairs and dark and filled with debris, climbing is the easiest way up to the second floor where all of the climate control systems were located as well as some other small rooms.
Added on after the original concrete construction, the aluminum and dry wall room was gutted by the fire but not damaged as much as the concrete rooms, which seemed to have burned much hotter and longer.
B-2 Entrance
First Floor Communications Center Door
First Floor Warped Steel
First Floor Back Room Damage
First Floor Central Room Fire Damage
Second Floor Looking Out
Second Floor Burnt Hall
First Floor Addition, Room One
First Floor Addition, Room Two
The bomb shelter for the post is, supposedly, still intact and not hazardous like the office building. It has either been sealed since people have been recently down it or the lid was too heavy and cold for us to lift.
FOUNDATION FOR SMALLER DISH IN FRONT OF B-2
BOMB SHELTER ROOF
LOOKOUT TOWARDS DESERT
The steel rail of the lookout point looks like someone drove into it. If the fire didn’t bend the fence then it certainly didn’t bend the rail!
Standing at the spot for a shift must have been a long, lonely job in high-speed winds and freezing temperatures. Most patrols on lookout have to stand unassisted but this job needed a rail to keep the soldier from being blown into the barbed wire fence!
> MT. LAGUNA AIR FORCE STATION: CANTONMENT AREA
Tags: 751st Radar Squadron, Air Force Communications Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, Laguna Mountains, Mount Laguna, Mt. Laguna Air Force Station, Mt. Laguna Joint Surveillance System, Operations Area
[...] READ MT. LAGUNA AIR FORCE STATION, PT. 1 [...]
you can see my night photography of the Luguna’s here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ineeddadrink/sets/72157602227027454/
nice work JM.
dem some nice snaps.
I was stationed at a similar site in South Carolina, then called the 792nd Radar Squadron. It was in North Charleston, right next to I-26. The GATR site was a couple of miles away, alone next to a swamp until a Holiday Inn went in nearby. We had the same equipment mentioned by another GATR vet. Some of the gear we had was made by Wurlitzer, of juke-box fame. The access road to the GATR site was a favorite trysting spot and we used to go out and run them off. I remember walking the perimeter during the Six Day War in 1967, carrying an unloaded M-16. Felt like I had a target stenciled on my shirt!
These radar squadrons ran all along the eastern and northern borders. I don’t know about southern coverage, but there was one outside Las Vegas, too. I took a 2-month course on the GKA-5 at Selfridge AFB north of Detroit in 1966. You could pump truth serum into me and strap me to a waterboard and I couldn’t tell you anything about it, though, except that it ran a pair of 4CX250s in the PA. Radio stuff interested me, digital did, and still does, not!
I was stationed here from 1969-1970 and have wonderful memories of the AFS and El Cajon where most of the personnel lived in Government leased housing. The mission was Air Defense and the System was the Backup (to SAGE) Intercept Control System (BUIC III) with second generation (transistor) computers. I was in charge ofcomputer software maintenance.
I was later Commander of the 714th Air Control and Warning Squadron at Cold Bay Alaska. Regretably, both sites were either left to rot or were demolished — but memory lingers.
how did it burn down mr abbot
My portfolio features some Urban Exploration pics, check it out.
I was stationed at Mt. Laguna Air Force Station in from the summer of 1969 until 1971. I was in the Security Police Unit and the thing that I remember most was that we had no NCOIC as we reported directly to the Base Commander who was Col. Fred C. Faupel. I recall that Col. Faupel needed somebody to run the base bowling alley and found out that I had experience in working on pinsetters and took me out of my job as a security policeman and made me the new operator of the bowling alley. I reacll somebody saying that Col. Faupel was the youngest “full bird” colonel in the Air Force (1969) People that I remember most were Dea and George Jirout who lived in the base run trailer park in Guatay just south of Pine Valley. I recall that Dea worked at the Pine House Restaurant and that wad a favorite hang-out for those of assigned to the base. After I left Mt. Laguna, I went back to NY where I now reside but I did get a chance to look up George Jirout who lived in Colorado Springs. I went there on a trip and located George but discovered he and Dea had gone their separate ways. I was trying to locate Dea to see if I could to say hello and to see if she still remembered me. I had a great time in Mt. Laguna and have fond memories of that place. The pictures of the radar site are amazing and bring back many memories. One fried that I mad there was John Jensen. John was a Master Sergeant and he had his wife and kids lived on base in the enlisted man’s quarters. He was from Odessa Texas and is still residing there today. John worked topside in the radar site. I have fond memories of Col. Faupel. He was a great boss and very concerned about the men assigned under him. I recall that he had connections with the SeaBees in the 7th Naval District in San Diego and they wound up building us a brand new NCO Club. It was a state-of-the-art facility at the time and had a great kitchen. We spent a lot of time at the club while at Mt. Laguna. Prior to my marriage, I lived in Alpha Barracks. After I married my first wife, we came to Mt. Laguna to live and we stayed for about three weeks in the BOQ until or quarters were ready in Guatay. That is when we met the Jirout’s. Thanks for the memories…graet pictures and stories.
I was stationed on the montain from 1966 to 1967. I worked at the GATR site.
Jim: I am doing some research at the 792nd radar squadron site in North Charleston you mentioned. Do you recall a dog cemetery there? Do you have any photos of your time there?
I was stationed at Mt Laguna with Det 4 MWS from 1973 to 1976. I was a tech on the AN/FSS7 and as a augmented security police ground pounder. I lived in the barracks and within the last 5 years went back and found my room and saw that it was still painted the terrible colors I painted it. I worked with Ken Groom (passed away 2 years ago) and Tom Osborn as well as a host of others. My email is shapiromj@covad.net.
I have a lot of very good memories of the base and the people on it. Summers were fantastic and I miss them to this day and think of them often. I did see a splat of information about the base in the early 80’s here in Los Angeles about the AN/FSS7 but nothing else.
Hope to hear from someone I was stationed with.
I was stationed there….751st radar Sqaudron..from June 1964 till June 1966…..My job was at the nearby GATR facility….UHF Ground to Air Communications…….Many memories of some great guys I worked with……many memories of The Blue Jay Lodge. Hope someone out there may remember….send me an E-Mail. billybaker2@cox.net
Mt Laguna was my first assignment after basic training, worked in the orderly room, was there from Nov 67 to May 68. Col Dixon was the base commander. I lived in El Cajon and took the chartered bus daily to
the site. Played on the base softball team, had many great memories of
the beauty of the area. Sad to see it in such condition. Had two good friends, Keith Jarrett from Wisconsin and Rich Brown from New York. Was a beautiful location. From the top you could see San Diego and the other way the Salton Sea. My email is: mike.hedstrom@comcast.net