The discovery of an old military ordnance in an alleyway behind several Solvang businesses on April 16 prompted members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department to evacuate the town’s downtown area.
After receiving a phone call from a concerned citizen around 3:30 p.m., the Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad and Vandenberg Air Force Base’s explosive ordnance disposal team arrived at the 1600 block of Copenhagen Drive and found the 105-millimeter ammunition shell lying in some trash.
“The ordnance appeared to be old and had been fired at some point, but because the fusing system was still in place the device was considered potentially unstable and able to cause widespread damage if it exploded,” Sheriff’s Department officials wrote in a release to the media.
Around 5:30 p.m., reverse 911 calls went out to about 400 telephone lines in the immediate area, telling residents to evacuate. A couple of hours later, reverse 911 calls went out to an additional 1,000 phone lines. Law enforcement officials estimated about 500 to 700 people were evacuated, including guests at several hotels.
The American Red Cross set up a shelter at the Veterans Memorial Hall where the displaced residents could gather and wait. The Sheriff’s Department’s search and rescue team also went door to door to make sure all of the residents in the evacuation area had left.
Not everyone seemed to have received the message, however. A downtown employee, who asked not to be indentified, told the Sun she didn’t receive a phone call and that “nobody came in [to the business] and said anything” about the evacuation.
“I didn’t know [about the evacuation] until I got home, and I live a couple of blocks away,” the employee said, adding that customers continued shopping in the business until 5 p.m.
“I saw all of the roads blocked off as I was trying to leave,” the employee added. “I thought, ‘Is there some celebrity thing going on?’”
Once the evacuations were completed, officials retrieved the military ordnance, rendered it safe, and then transported it to a remote location and destroyed it with a controlled detonation.
As of press time, the deputies still didn’t know where the device came from.
“Even though they are not meant for public use, they can be purchased online. The Sheriff’s Office wants to remind community members to be cautious when purchasing and storing military ordnances,” the Sheriff’s Department press release said. “Over time they have the ability to become unstable and dangerous.”
Members of the public who have ordnances they would like to safely dispose of, or have concerns about someone who might have one, can contact the Sheriff’s Department at 681-4100.
This article appears in Apr 24 – May 1, 2014.