During the small Contra Costa town of Port Costa’s annual community-wide yard sale Saturday, a resident approached a crew of firefighters patrolling there with a question: Could they help him open a box handed down to him from a relative years ago that he’d never managed to get open himself?
The officers agreed — but what they found when they finally managed to pry it open resulted in a call to a military bomb squad and the evacuation of the area.
Inside the box was a live hand grenade, as well as a tear gas container, also known as a ferret round, according to officials from the Travis Air Force Base which responded to the scene.
“From the crews on the scene, it did appear to be relatively old but still live,” said Steve Trotter, public information officer for the Crockett-Carquinez Fire Department, whose officers were on scene in the coastal town.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol and Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office cleared the area around Reservoir Street and Carquinez Scenic Drive around 5:30 pm, blocking traffic as crews from the Travis Air Force Base Explosive Ordnance Disposal team responded.
The Travis Air Force Base team transported the grenade back to the base, where they detonated it, and then returned the tear gas container to the sheriff’s office, as it was found to be a local law enforcement item, officials said.
No one was hurt in the incident, Trotter said. Roads reopened by 8:20 p.m, and no one has been taken into custody.
The scene is now secure and roads have been reopened. Thank you to the Travis Air Force Base Explosive Ordnance Disposal team for their assistance. https://t.co/X2FBDWHMPY pic.twitter.com/4gUR9c8lzo
— CrockettCarquinezFire (@FireCrockett) May 26, 2024
Source: www.mercurynews.com