PORT ANGELES — Army personnel disposed of a Navy flare found west of the Elwha River mouth Friday, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies remained on the scene until an explosives team from Joint Base Lewis-McChord arrived to dispose of the flare, Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King said.
Navy flares occasionally wash up on Clallam County beaches, King said.
He estimated that they are found on local beaches about once every six months.
“There’re pretty common,” King said Friday.
“However, they are military ordnance. They are dangerous, so we typically sit on them until we can get Coast Guard, Navy, Army, whomever, to come out here with their ordnance disposal team and pick it up.”
The flare was reported on the 2500 block of Place Road at 10:51 a.m. Friday, King said.
“It’s usually somebody beachcombing that comes across one,” King said. “Usually they’re empty. This one, at least visually, appears intact.”
Joint Base Lewis-McChord crews arrived at about 5 p.m. Friday.
King, who was attending a softball tournament in Centralia on Saturday, could not confirm what technique was used to dispose of the flare.
“Normally they place [the explosive] in a blast-proof container and remove from site,” King said in a text message.
“Other times they may destroy on site.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
