The explosive ordnance disposal team from the 341st Civil Engineer Squadron at Malmstrom was dispatched to Yellowstone National Park in June to handle an unexploded avalanche round.

On June 11, the base received a notification from Yellowstone park ranges that an unexploded 105mm avalanche control round had made its way down a mountainside to within 10 feet of the main travel route in the park, according to Malmstrom.

The unexploded round reported by the park rangers had a fuse sheared off on impact which caused the explosive to malfunction and trigger incorrectly, according to a Malmstrom release.

Only 12 munitions have reportedly failed to work over the 50-year history of the avalanche control program at Yellowstone, according to Malmstrom.

Once the EOD team arrived at the location of the item on June 12, they and the park rangers developed a plan for potential detonation locations, general safety and explosives briefings.

The team decided the safest option was to destroy the item in the trench between the shoulder of the road and the snowbank, placing sandbags on top of the device to mitigate possible fragmentation from becoming a hazard to the personnel, according to Malmstrom.

During the winter season, national parks use explosives to trigger avalanches to prevent them from occurring naturally and potentially harming people or damaging infrastructure.

Park rangers use weather data, snowpack analysis and ground observations, as well as potential risks to people in the area to determine when to trigger an avalanche, according to Malmstrom.

EOD asks people to be aware of their surroundings and if you find an item that appears to be a military round or explosive, leave it alone and call 911.

U.S. Air Force photo