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TOOELE — People throughout the Salt Lake Valley on Thursday were surprised by loud booms that shook houses and rattled windows.
It turns out the booms were coming from the Tooele Army Depot as it kicked off its routine detonation schedule to dispose of expired military munitions on the south range.
Starting this week, the detonations are set to continue weekdays through the end of October.
"We understand that the sounds and vibrations that were experienced today surprised people and were scary. 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 officials said in a statement on Facebook.
The depot is "tasked with destroying the nation's old, obsolete, and unsafe munitions," officials said, and has done so since World War II. "We are permitted to conduct open detonations from April through October. We only conduct these operations when weather conditions are right to mitigate the sounds and shaking from the detonations. There was no danger to the public from these operations.
"Today's detonations were propagated further than normal because of the increased moisture in the ground and lack of cloud cover, which amplifies the effects of the detonations. We do our best to be good neighbors while also accomplishing our mission."
Cottonwood Heights police said the Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center received a total of 431 calls regarding the booms, 271 of which were received within a 20-minute time frame.
There were 14 detonations set off Thursday, according to the depot's public affairs officer Wade Matthews, Salt Lake County Emergency Management reported. The material was "propellant" being disposed from old ammunition as part of the depot's "demilitarization" mission, Matthews said.
We have confirmed with Tooele Army Depot that they are performing detonations today and believe that to be the source. The detonations are part of TAD's routine operations to dispose of expired military munitions.
— Salt Lake County Emergency Management (@SLCoEmerMngt) September 19, 2024
The army depot conducts detonations typically from September…
— S_Sligt (@ScottSligting) September 19, 2024
