Authorities evacuated a wing of a middle school in Anderson, Calif., on Thursday after what they called a "bomb device" was discovered on school district grounds nearby.
A mechanic at the Cascade Union School District offices in the town, in northern California near Redding, reported finding a suspicious package under a bus in the garage about 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET).
The Shasta County sheriff's bomb squad was called and part of Anderson Middle School was evacuated a short time later after police upgraded the status of the object to a "bomb device," NBC station KNVN of Chico reported.
Police told the Redding Record Searchlight that the device appeared to be capable of igniting a fire but wasn't necessarily explosive on its own.
The bus was being examined on a lift in the garage late Thursday afternoon, and a street running along the property was closed.