SALT LAKE CITY — The Tooele Army Depot is apologizing after a series of loud booms caused alarm across much of the Salt Lake Valley on Thursday, with many concerned about what was causing the noise.
Although scary, officials at the depot said they were simply conducting detonation operations to dispose of expired military munitions in the Rush Valley in Tooele County, the same as they have done every year since World War II.
UPS driver reacts to loud boom heard in valley (Nick Wetenkamp):
The depot said 14 detonations were conducted Thursday, one every minute, which are permitted from April to October each year, weather permitting.
"It wasn't a lack of oversight or oversight of the conditions," said Col. Luke R. Clover, Commander of the depot. "Everything was within the parameters that we u we look at daily when we do these operations and we were within those parameters. It just happened to be the extra moisture in the ground caused that explosion to carry further than usual."
Strict guidelines are followed regarding weather conditions for testing as to not alarm residents, but officials said they need to reassess those guidelines.
Just after noon, the detonations were heard by many people who were concerned about their safety. The Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center said it received 1,384 total calls about the noise via 9-1-1 within a 20-minute time frame.
"We understand that the sounds and vibrations that were experienced today surprised people and were scary," depot officials posted to social media. "We know that these types of things can be concerning to some people. It’s not something that they experience every day.
"Tooele Army Depot is tasked with destroying the Nation’s old, obsolete, and unsafe munitions. We do that to ensure our Warfighters have the best tools to use when needed."
Loud boom can be heard in video below (Allison Croghan):
Many residents were upset that no warning was given about the detonations despite them being regular occurrences throughout the summer and early fall.
"We are sorry that we didn't post anything. We will do a better job in the future," the depot wrote.
Officials assured the public that there was no risk to anyone.
