Vikki Vargas
OC sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino says a backpack containing hand grenades, blasting caps, white powder and grenade fuses was so volatile, a bomb squad had to detonate the bag on site -- near the intersection of Orangethorpe and Lakeview avenues. Vikki Vargas reports from Placentia for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on July 9, 2012.
A backpack containing explosives was discovered Monday morning in a drainage ditch in Placentia, the Orange County Sheriff's Department has confirmed.
Workers discovered the backpack around 9 a.m. near the intersection of Orangethorpe and Lakeview avenues (map), OCSD spokesman Jim Amormino said.
Inside the pack were two grenades, blasting caps, fuse igniters and various powders, said Amormino, adding that "these items are extremely volatile."
"The backpack appears to have been here for a while. We can tell because of the condition of the backpack," Amormino said. "Again, the longer the backpack has been here, the more volatile these items are."
"It would have been extremely dangerous to transport those items to another location," Amormino said, explaining the necessity of detonating the explosives on site.
Workers in the area said it was "concerning" to unknowingly be so close to such a powerful amount of explosives.
"If I would have drove past those on the train track right there, that would have been it for me and my truck, that is for sure," said Kory Fleck.
Lakeview Avenue was temporarily closed between Orangethorpe and La Palma avenues, Amormino said.
Some of the explosives were detonated in a bomb squad containment tank (video embedded below).
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