Mailbox explodes in Amador County; deputies trigger second blast as part of their response

Amador County authorities are investigating a weekend explosion in a mailbox that sparked a small fire.

Dispatchers at the Sheriff’s Office received multiple reports of an explosion and fire at the parcel mailboxes near Fiddletown and Hale roads. The incident occurred just before 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Deputies discovered one box blown open and its doors across the street, where a small fire started as a result, according to a sheriff’s Facebook post. The fire was extinguished.

A package was found near the exploded mailbox, resulting in the Calaveras County Sheriff Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit arriving on the scene.

“They X-rayed the package, but could not rule it out as a possible secondary device,” authorities stated. “The second package was detonated by the EOD team and was later determined not to contain another explosive.”

Deputies are still investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Amador County Sheriff’s Office.

This story was originally published September 5, 2022 at 1:21 PM.