VIGNETTE > Bombs on Open Space Trail

Trail near bombsite

At 1 pm on Saturday, December 18, 2004, a hiker found partially buried rusted drab-green military-style ammunitions canisters 30 feet off an open space trail in Homestead Valley. He called the Sheriff who called the UC Berkeley bomb squad.  Some of the canisters had been buried and all of them appeared to have been there for several years. It was determined that the explosives were too unstable to move, making it necessary to detonate them in place. At 3:30 pm, thirty families were evacuated from their homes on Castle Rock Drive.  Members of the UC Berkeley and Travis Air Force Base bomb squads detonated seven separate canisters (one by one) containing a high explosive bursting charge used for demolition, mining and artillery shells. The last explosion was at 10:45 pm. Residents were then allowed to return to their homes. The blasts blew in a window in the nearest house.  The explosions left a crater about 10 feet in diameter and 4 feet deep. The Marin County Sheriff’s Department reported that nobody seemed to know how long the explosives had been there or who put them there.  The uncertainty led to widespread speculation. One long-time resident of Castle Rock Drive said, “My guess is that it probably goes back to the radical times we had in the 70s. Maybe somebody buried them with the intent to use them later.”

For additional Information:
Read the Homestead Valley Article: Bombs in Homestead