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'Military Ordnance' Scare Sends Thousands Fleeing in California

Reverse 911 calls were put in to more than 1,000 homes and authorities went door-to-door to tell people to leave the area.
Image: A potentially explosive piece of military ordnance that was found in Solvang, Calif.
A potentially explosive piece of military ordnance that was found in Solvang, Calif.Santa Barbara County Sheriff

More than 1,000 homes and businesses were evacuated late Wednesday after a possible unexploded bomb was found.

Crews retrieved the "potentially explosive military ordnance" just after midnight after finding it in Solvang, California.

Bomb units from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office and the Vandenberg Air Force Base set up a perimeter of 1,500 feet around the device, which was discovered at around 3:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. ET).

Image: A potentially explosive piece of military ordnance that was found in Solvang, Calif.
A potentially explosive piece of military ordnance that was found in Solvang, Calif.Santa Barbara County Sheriff

Reverse 911 calls were put in to more than 1,000 homes and businesses and authorities went door-to-door to tell people to leave the area.

"At just after midnight, the Sheriff's bomb squad and Vandenberg's EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] team removed the military ordnance and rendered it safe," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Shortly after, the evacuation was lifted and residents were allowed to return to their homes."

- Alexander Smith