LAKEPORT >> A suspicious device was detonated near the Lakeport Fire Protection District station on Thursday afternoon. Lakeport Police and other responders blocked streets temporarily as the operation was completed.
The device was described as a cardboard tube approximately 10 inches long and filled with black powder. Authorities say it had been left at a Lakeport home at some point in the recent past. Investigators are still piecing together the timeline, but this morning a woman who lives at that residence brought the device to the fire department, reportedly believing it to be an old firework.
She asked firefighters to dispose of the device.
At around 11 a.m., the Lakeport Police officers were called to the station to investigate the tube-shaped device. According to LPD Chief Brad Rasmussen, the responding officers determined that it wasn’t a firework but a dangerous explosive, prompting them to call the Napa County Sheriff’s Office’s bomb squad for assistance.
“It was a dangerous device,” Rasmussen said. “It could have killed somebody.”
The squad arrived a few hours later and determined the device was too unstable to be moved safely.
“It needed to be detonated in the immediate area,” Rasmussen reported.
Authorities then closed off traffic on North Forbes Street between Third and Fifth Streets and notified nearby residents to stay indoors while they set up a blast safety area. A robot moved the bomb to a vacant lot at Fourth and Forbes, where officers secured it for detonation.
The device was destroyed a little after 3 p.m. During the detonation, there was no danger to the public, Rasmussen said.
In addition to Lakeport Police, Napa County Sheriff’s Office and Lakeport Fire personnel, city Public Works staff and District Attorney investigators were involved in the operation.
Further investigation on the device’s origin is ongoing. Additional information wasn’t released.
