Calaveras Sheriff’s bomb squad responds to explosive finds

The Calaveras County Sheriff’s bomb squad was deployed three times in one week late last month to dispose of explosives discovered in both Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.

Among the items that the team handled between June 22-30 were an improvised explosive device, a rocket-propelled grenade and about 500 old blasting caps, according to the release.

On June 22, Calaveras County Sheriff’s deputies were preparing an abandoned vehicle with expired registration parked at Mountain Ranch and Micheal roads in Mountain Ranch to be towed when they discovered a loaded handgun and what they believed to be an IED.

The bomb squad, formally known as the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, was called to the scene and determined the device was a homemade IED, the release said.

Testing conducted after the team moved the device to a safe location and rendered it safe confirmed the “presence of a high explosive,” the release said.

A day later, on June 23, the squad was again called out when a landfill on Hunt Road in Milton reported workers found what they believed to be a live explosive while they were sorting through garbage.

“During the investigation, they learned someone had thrown the ordinance out with their trash and may have been in there for days,” the release stated.

The ordinance was identified as a projectile or rocket from an RPG launcher. The RPG round was counter-charged and rendered safe on-site in a remote location.

On June 30, the bomb squad responded to a report of blasting caps that were dug up during a construction project outside of Groveland in Tuolumne County.

About 200 aging and degraded blasting caps were initially discovered. The site was excavated, and

an additional 300 blasting caps were found.

All of the blasting caps were countercharged on site and rendered safe. The location of the construction site was not disclosed, though there are currently several public and private projects underway in the area.

Investigations into all three incidents were still ongoing, the release stated.

The Sheriff’s Office provided the following safety tips regarding explosives:

• Never assume that an ordinance found outside a military environment is safe. Over the years, the Bomb Squad has responded to dozens of calls involving military ordinance. Most military training ordinances are painted a certain color to indicate they are for training. It’s not uncommon for someone to claim the ordinance is safe due to its markings and color. However, outside of a military environment, there is no way of knowing if the ordinance was modified or painted a different color. Additionally, many people collect military ordinance that is inert or safe. Again, there is no way of knowing it is safe. The Bomb Squad has found dozens of pieces of military ordinances used as décor and even in local museums that turned out to be a live ordinance.

• In the past, it was not uncommon for someone to go to the local hardware store and buy some dynamite and blasting caps for tree clearing or ditch digging. There were little to no restrictions on purchasing explosives back then. Sometimes these explosives were stored for years and forgotten until they were found by someone cleaning out an old building or rummaging through an old barn. In addition, with the history of mining in the area, the Bomb Squad has responded to dozens of calls where old explosives or blasting caps were discovered. If you suspect you have found some old explosives or blasting caps, do not move them. Call 911.

• If you find something and believe it to be explosive or suspicious, don’t hesitate to call 911.

The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (EOD) was established in 1996. The EOD unit is a tactical team that responds to explosives-related incidents, including found explosives, improvised explosive devices (IED), and suspicious packages.

Unit members are also trained to conduct full postblast investigations, including analysis and forensic study. The team is a regional asset relied upon to provide Eod-related incident resolution to neighboring jurisdictions.

Last year, the team responded to 19 calls for service involving explosive items.

Deputies assigned to the EOD Unit receive their initial training and certification through an intensive FBI Hazardous Device School. In addition, they are cross-trained as hazardous materials specialists.

Training is conducted each month to ensure that each member is proficient in all required skills. Members are required to recertify with the FBI every three years.

To reduce equipment replacement costs, the EOD team coordinates with federal agencies to receive equipment at no cost to the department. Items received from the federal government are inventoried and put into service during the team’s monthly training.

Recent items received from federal agencies include specialized robots that can be used to examine, transport, or render explosives safe.