SEASIDE - New information on a battle to clean up the former Fort Ord.
Signs are posted on part of the area warning the public to keep out for their own good.
The federal government wants the public to stay out of some areas because there could still be explosives from the old military base.
But neighbors and activists in the area said they have proof the area is safe and are just trying to clean up the mess the government isn't taking care of.
"I have no second guessing myself. I'm glad we did what we did. I'm proud we did what we did," said Gordon Smith of the Veterans Wild Fort Ord.
Smith said what they did was an attempt to honor soldiers who trained at Fort Ord.
A Vietnam veteran himself, and the Veterans Wild Fort Ord group, went to clean up the area near 8th Avenue and Gigling Road last month and put up a memorial sign on a post.
But the Fort Ord Reuse Authority said they weren't supposed to be there.
Danger signs are posted around the track warning people the area is being investigated for explosives, but Smith said they were posted two weeks after he was out there.
"The signs have been here for five years," said Stan Cook of the Ford Ord Reuse Authority. "We do have problems with vandalism, but we maintain them regularly."
Cook said the group graded on site and moved soil that could spark unexploded ordinances.
But Smith said he has a photo from 2009 proving the land was actually cleared of any potential weapons years ago.
The controversy sparked when FORA said it found the photos of the memorial on the group's website.
It then went to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about it.
The problem is the restricted area isn't clear.
Central Coast News had a hard time figuring it out when we went to the area.
And the confusion seems to be an on-going issue.
Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett said he was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he strolled through the restricted area on a hike with a constituent.
Smith said it all goes back to the government caring more about regulations than its own people.
"They've named streets here after generals, and colonels and battles," he said. "There's no memorials out here."
The EPA said if FORA doesn't keep people out, it will close trails, or impose fines.
