Family finds live military-grade explosive in California yard
Noe PadillaAn 8-year-old boy in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, found a live military-grade explosive while digging in the yard, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
The boy's parents alerted local authorities to the live 81mm mortar, which was discovered along the 5500 block of Marconi Avenue shortly after noon on April 6, according to police.
The sheriff’s explosive ordinance disposal team evacuated the surrounding area as they determined if the object discovered was an explosive. Once officers confirmed the item was live, the Beale Air Force Base in Yuba County sent a team of soldiers to the house to safely remove the mortar from the area, according to police.
The mortar was moved to the sheriff’s explosive ordinance disposal range, where it was safely destroyed, according to police.
The Beale Air Force Base also confirmed that the mortar was a live military shell from 1953, according to Sgt. Ed Igoe, spokesperson for Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
It's unclear how a mortar ended up in the area, but Carmichael is located within a dozen miles of two historical U.S. Air Force bases in Sacramento County, Mather Air Force Base and McClellan Air Force Base.
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at [email protected], follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.