U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Avoiding blasts from the past
The BLM El Centro Field Office took part in training designed to inform and educate staff to the presence and danger of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from military training activities during WWII. With a good deal of the resource area located in the former California-Arizona Maneuver Area (C-AMA), the odds of finding munitions and munitions debris from these training activities remains high. The BLM California Desert District manages the majority of the former C-AMA in southeastern California. (more text below)
The training was provided by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency responsible for the clean-up and environmental restoration of these areas. Instructor Sonny Franks provided hands-on examples of the seven general types of munitions that may be found on BLM's public lands. These include small arms ammunition, projectiles, mortars, land mines, rockets, grenades and smoke pots. (Readers may remember a 40mm grenade found by a camper in the Dune Buggy Flats area of the Imperial Sand Dunes in November, 2011.)
Visitors to BLM public lands, and other Imperial Valley desert locations, are reminded that unexploded ordnances (UXO) are often very unstable and dangerous. Because not every bomb looks like a bomb, keep away from strange looking devices and contact authorities immediately. Here are some guidelines to follow should you encounter a UXO:
Remember: Recognize. Retreat. Report.
For more information on the history of C-AMA, contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public Affairs Office at 213-452-3921. For more information on lands managed by the BLM in the El Centro area, contact 760-337-4400, or visit our web page at www.blm.gov/ca/elcentro
- Joya Szalwinski, interpretive park ranger, BLM El Centro Field Office/Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (February 14, 2012)