Vigilant Guard 17

 Vigilant Guard 17 (military exercise)

Soldiers and airmen of the Georgia National Guard's Joint Task Force 781 Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) set up a headquarters tent at Fort Stewart, Ga., as part of Vigilant Guard 2017, a statewide emergency response exercise, March 27, 2017. (Army photo)
Date	23 March, 2017 - 31 March, 2017
Location	Atlanta,  Georgia (State),  USA
Perpetrators	U.S. Northern Command, National Guard Bureau, GEMHSA
Description	March 2017 military exercise held in Georgia, practicing "any sort of catastrophic event". Also coinciding with Atlanta bridge collapse.

Vigilant Guard 17 was a military exercise held from March 23-31, 2017 in Georgia, practicing "any sort of catastrophic event".

The exercise coincided with the collapse in a massive fire of a concrete or steel bridge section of Interstate 85 (I-85) in Atlanta, on the evening of Thursday, March 30, 2017. The fire, later pinned on three homeless people, might possibly have been part, either intentionally or by bungling, of what was planned as a highly "realistic" simulation exercise.

Official narrative

The 2017 exercise was the largest Vigilant Guard event conducted in its history, and was the first time that the state of Georgia ever hosted a Vigilant Guard event.

Under the scenarios practiced during the Vigilant Guard 17 training exercise, 19 counties were in a simulated state of emergency. More than 50 federal and local agencies joined the Georgia Department of Defense along with units from six other states for a series of real-world training scenarios. Exercise missions included collapsed building search and decontamination, search-and-rescue training, maritime response, aerial firefighting, mass-casualty medical-evacuation training, cyberattack defense and more.

The purpose of the large-scale and comprehensive exercise was "to simulate a real-world natural disaster in order to improve cooperation among local, state, and federal stakeholders in preparing for emergencies and any sort of catastrophic event," Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said.

Interstate 85 bridge fire and collapse

Repair works at the collapsed Interstate 85 bridge

On March 30, 2017, a massive fire collapsed a section of the I-85 freeway viaduct in Atlanta, Georgia, stranding motorists for miles during rush hour traffic The fire under the viaduct was allegedly "maliciously set" by a group of three individuals. Atlanta Mayor and Bilderberger Kasim Reed described the situation as a "transportation crisis" and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency.

The flames ignited in a fenced-in, state-owned storage lot under the highway where the state stores construction materials and supplies, including HDPE (polyethylene) pipes, with "relatively low" flammability.

The state quickly pinned the fire on three homeless men. Basil Eleby was charged with criminal trespass and first-degree criminal damage to property for setting the fire, and two others were charged with criminal trespass for being present when the fire started. Eleby appeared in court on August 14, 2017. Prosecutors agreed to drop the arson charges if Eleby completed an 18-month mental health and sobriety program, which he successfully completed on February 28, 2020.

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