Bellows Beach is closed to the public until Aug. 20 as Army ordnance experts search Bellows Air Force Station for potential World War II-era munitions.

An Air Force spokesperson told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that it’s part of a long-planned survey and there is no cause for alarm. The closure began at the beginning of the month.

“Right now we haven’t had any reports of anything, but it’s just part of our investigation to ensure that it continues to be a safe area just because of its history,” said the spokesperson.

Originally established in 1917 as the Waimanalo Military Reservation, the base was renamed Bellows Field in 1933 after World War I soldier Franklin Barney Bellows. It was among the airfields targeted during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, killing two airmen.

Bellows Field became a recreational area in 1958, and much of the surrounding area is still used for training by the Marines and the Army.

The sweep is being conducted under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, which established the federal Superfund program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The effort involves several agencies and programs, including the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, which Congress established in 1986 to clean up military sites, and the Military Munitions Response Program, which the Pentagon set up in 2001 to specifically deal with issues around unexploded ordnance.

“The CERCLA process takes lots of time for all parties to come to (an) agreement, and the actions are finally happening in August,” said Bellows Air Force Station commander Maj. Amanda Pelkowski in a video posted to Facebook explaining the survey.