Rockets, grenades, mortars up in smoke at Former Fort Ord

A variety of different explosives left behind at a weapons range within the former Fort Ord were purposely detonated Wednesday by the U.S. Army’s Fort Ord Base Realignment and Closure Office and a U.S. Army contractor called KEMRON.

Previously unexploded projectiles, rockets, grenades and mortars were all blown up in three simultaneous blasts that left large clouds of smoke in the skies above the Monterey Bay.

“As we clean up the munitions on this portion of the national monument we find things and we blow them up to remove the explosive hazards,” said Bill Collins with the U.S. Army’s Fort Ord Base Realignment and Closure Office.

The blast was conducted in what is called the “impact area.” That means when the base was still in use soldiers had trainings here. Left behind when Ford Ord closed, though, were loads of explosives. “Pretty much everything that the U.S. Army fired from the early 1920s up until maybe later in the 70s and 80s,” said Brad Olson with KEMRON.

This area, which is gated off with barbed wire and closed to the public, has seen weapons dating back as far as WWI. Despite the years experts say many of them are just as good as the day they were made.

“They are designed to detonate and kill people and blow things up,” Olson said. “Maybe they are a little rustier, no paint is left on them but they could function as designed.”

With this portion of the cleanup out of the way, the U.S. Army is planning another one on the northern portion of the Ford Ord National Monument. Some roads and trails will be closed temporarily but Army officials say visitors who stick to designated areas will be safe.

This is certainly not the first time that the U.S. Army has coordinated this type of detonation. On Nov. 8th, 2016, crews destroyed 160 suspected weapons including 40 suspected 81 millimeter highly explosive projectiles.

The whole area is expected to be cleaned up in 5 to 8 years, according to Collins.