Sacramento deputies safely remove military explosives from Orangevale home

A Sacramento County sheriff’s explosives team safely recovered bricks of dangerous C4 explosive and other ordnance from an Orangevale home over the weekend, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said.

No one was injured.

The plastic explosives had the potential for “catastrophic” damage if they had detonated, said sheriff’s officials in a social media post.

“To put the power of the recovered C4 into perspective, an accidental detonation could have caused catastrophic damage within approximately 150 feet, while dangerous fragmentation and debris could have traveled up to 600 feet,” deputies said.

The owner of the home at about 9 a.m. Saturday discovered the 2½ bricks of the plastic explosive, along with a pair of incendiary grenades and a smoke grenade, inside the home in the 6700 block of Beech Avenue and called authorities. The home had belonged to the caller’s late father, a former military demolitions instructor, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The explosives team collected the explosives for later destruction, sheriff’s officials said.

Anyone who discovers possible military ordnance, explosives or suspicious devices should leave the area immediately and call 911.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

916-321-1040

Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.