A rodent infestation at naval facilities on San Clemente Island was more widespread than previously reported and, at its peak, an official on the island threatened to close a key housing facility if something wasn’t done to fix the problem, emails show.
The emails, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, offer a behind-the-scenes look at how Navy leaders dealt with a booming population of mice on the island, which the Union-Tribune first reported Oct. 30.
San Clemente Island is the southernmost island in the Channel Islands archipelago that runs from Santa Barbara to the coast off San Diego.
It’s home to the Navy’s only ship-to-shore live firing range, an airfield, a Navy SEAL training facility, and it has about 150 to 300 Navy personnel on it at any given time. That population can spike to 2,000, depending on operations.
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