Bad 'Bombs' Come in Threes

Calaveras County, California The Calaveras County Sheriff's bomb squad was deployed three times in one week to dispose of explosives discovered in both Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, the according to a news release from the Sherriff's Department. Items recovered included an IED, a rocket-propelled grenade and about 500 old blasting caps.

The IED was found in an abandoned vehicle with expired registration that was scheduled to be towed when a loaded handgun and suspected IED were discovered. The bomb squad moved the device to a safe location and rendered it safe, confirming in the statement that there was "presence of a high explosive."

The next day, the squad was called out again when landfill workers found what they believed to be a live explosive while they were sorting through garbage. According to the press release, "During the investigation, they learned someone had thrown the (ordnance) out with their trash and may have been in there for days."

The munition was identified as a projectile from an RPG launcher. The round was countercharged and disposed of on-site in a remote location.

And in keeping with the old adage that "bad things come in threes," the bomb squad was again called out that same week to examine blasting caps that were dug up during a construction project outside of Groveland in Tuolumne County. Approximately 200 aging and degraded blasting caps were initially discovered, but once the area was excavated, an additional 300 blasting caps were found.

All of the blasting caps were countercharged on-site or a proper disposal. Investigations into all three incidents were still ongoing at the time of the news release.