TOOLE ARMY DEPOT, NORTH

 
The Tooele Depot is a 44,000 acre Army facility that was the primary ammunition storage facility for the Army's western district. The Depot consists of two areas, with different functions, separated by 15 miles of state highway. The 24,000 acre North Area has the headquarters, administrative offices, and acres of storage facilities. Until 1992, the North Depot was a major wheeled vehicle maintenance facility, where every kind of wheeled vehicle up to approximately 5 tons, as well as generators, refrigeration units and other field equipment, were repaired or remanufactured for reuse and resale. This function of Tooele has been now moved and much of the North Area is a ghost town, though it remains an active depot for the storage and disposal of conventional weapons. Over 900 munitions storage igloos, spread out across the valley floor, make up two million square feet of this secured munitions storage space. Also in the North Area is an open burn area for the disposal of surplus and unstable munitions, where open detonations occur as much as two major blasts per day. The North Area employs around 650 people today, nearly all civilian contractors.