Sheriff's deputies and bomb technicians descended on an Orangevale neighborhood Tuesday after a resident reported finding what looked like explosives inside a home on the 6700 block of Beech Avenue. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office quickly called in its Explosive Ordnance Disposal team to secure and haul away the suspicious materials. No one was hurt, deputies said, and the items were collected for controlled destruction. Neighbors said they were shaken but reported that the situation felt contained once technicians arrived.
According to FOX40, the EOD team recovered one smoke grenade, two incendiary grenades and two half-blocks of C4 from the house, which previously belonged to a father who had served as a military demolitions instructor. Deputies collected everything for proper destruction and removed it from the residence, and the sheriff’s office said technicians handled the materials for safe disposal.
Bomb Techs Warn of Big Blast Radius
The sheriff’s office said the recovered C4 "could have caused catastrophic damage within 150 feet" and that dangerous fragmentation and debris could have traveled as far as 600 feet. All of the materials were taken by EOD and will be destroyed in a controlled operation, according to FOX40.
Not the Only Discovery This Spring
Such finds are rare but not unheard of in the region this year. In April, deputies removed a live 81-millimeter mortar round from a Carmichael yard and had to call in Air Force specialists to help identify and dispose of it, KCRA reported. Local bomb squads have also been involved in removing old military ordnance and illegal fireworks across Sacramento County in recent months.
What To Do if You Spot Something Suspect
Officials routinely advise residents not to touch or move suspected military ordnance and to call 911 so trained teams can respond. "To be able to find a military-grade ordnance just buried in someone’s backyard is very rare," a sheriff’s spokesman told The Sacramento Bee after the earlier mortar recovery.
The sheriff’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit removed the devices in Orangevale for controlled destruction and secured the scene. Authorities say the investigation into the origin of the materials is ongoing.
