22/09/2024 Canada, Columbia Britannica, (British Columbia), Okanagan, Vernon
“If you ever come across anything suspicious like this item, please do not pick it up, contact your local law and/or enforcement agency for assistance”.
The North Okanagan’s military past keeps popping up throughout the region, with potentially deadly consequences. For years, the area around Vernon was used for live-fire training and remnants of those bygone days are still being found today. Nick Monteiro, the UXO legacy site program manager with the Department of National Defence, said the area was “extensively used for military training prior to the First World War and up until the end of the Korean Conflict.” During that time, countless thousands of mortar rounds of various sizes were fired in the surrounding hills, but not all of them detonated, leaving a potentially deadly legacy of unexploded ordinances (UXO) in its wake. It was the largest live-fire training area in Western Canada at one point,” Monteiro said, adding to prepare the soldiers for combat overseas, live ammo was used “which is the reason we have an issue to this day.” Monteiro said a live two-inch mortar round was found last March at the Vernon Cadet Training Centre while crews were adding an addition to a building in the main part of the camp. The military was called in to assess the situation. If it is deemed moving the mortar would be too hazardous, a charge is placed and the mortar is blown in place, which was the case of the cadet camp mortar. In late August, another live mortar was found near Round Lake north of Vernon – that too was blown in place by the military. “There’s certain areas where we keep finding items,” Monteiro said. “It’s where we would expect to find items based on the density of training that happened.” Area no stranger to unexploded ordinances
Mounties are reminding anyone who comes across explosives or live ammunition to call police for assistance and to not handle them yourself.
Dear editors, Biography of a bomb is aimed at highlighting the danger caused by unexploded bombs. Moreover, the most important aspect is that we work completely non profit, what drives us is raising awerness about this topic. We make use of your pictures and articles, but we need them to put a context in how findings are done. We trust in your understanding. We will (and we always do) cite the source and the author. We thank you for your comprehension.
