Authorities neutralize bomb

The Marines worked alongside the Orange County Bomb Squad Friday to neutralize a military-grade mortar round that was brought into a Huntington Beach Fire Station at Heil Avenue and Springdale Street.

A concerned citizen brought in the live mortar round, and it was later deemed potentially dangerous.

“It had four pounds of live explosive in it and it could have gone off,” said Laurie Payne, a Huntington Beach spokeswoman.

The fire department labeled the device as an 81-m.m., dynamite-filled mortar from the World War II era. The man, who authorities did not identify, had said he got the mortar from an estate sale not knowing what it was, according to Battalion Chief Mark Daggett

“He was completely unaware of the danger of the device. He was just driving around with it in the back of his truck,” Daggett said.

After buying it, the man said he took the mortar to a Huntington Beach military surplus store and workers there told him that it might be hazardous. At that point he brought it to Huntington Beach Fire Station, 5891 Heil Ave., and firefighters called the Orange County Bomb Squad.

“When the bomb squad saw it they realized that it was a military-grade explosive and called over to Camp Pendleton and they sent over some Marines,” Daggett said.

Huntington Beach police evacuated approximately 25 neighboring homes along with the fire station and a few local businesses, but the street was reopened at about 3:30 p.m. when the bomb squad drove away with the mortar in a bomb-proof container.

The bomb was not defused at the scene. It was taken to the Orange County landfill in Irvine to be neutralized.

“If it had gone off there would have been no potential injury to the public because of the evacuations and safety precautions we took, but it would have caused significant property damage,” Daggett said.

Residents had to leave their houses for several hours.

“This has ruined my entire day,” said Julie Ketchum, who was evacuated from her house on Heil Avenue.