Public Advisory Notices Issues After Munitions Find

Ventura, California advisory notices and warnings have been issued within the Los Padres National Forest to warn visitors about the potential for UXO. The area where the projectile was found was reportedly a WWII era training range. The warnings were issued after a recent visual survey of the area was completed where a 105mm projectile was found on the ground surface. The U.S. Forest Service was surprised by the find because they had no idea that the area was once a former range.

Additional research into the area however indicated that the Army acquired a special use permit back in August of 1942 to use 2,880 acres as part of the Dry Canyon Artillery Range. The range was used until 1944 but officially turned back to the Forest Service in 1952 after several "ordnance inspections" were conducted. It's unclear if the 105mm projectile was missed during those inspections or surfaced after 60+ years of soil erosion and weathering. The area remains open but visitors have been warned to call 911 should they encounter any munitions.