The Austin Police Department’s bomb squad detonated what officers believed to be an old explosive charge left over from flood control dam construction in the Lower Purgatory Creek Natural Area Thursday afternoon.
Between 8-9 a.m. on Feb. 4, city park rangers found several wires sticking out of a bore hole in a rock outcropping more than 100 yards away from the Wonder World extension overpass that had been discovered previously by a man who had been trespassing in the closed park.
City park ranges and marshals had been searching for the hole, which was 2-3 inches in diameter, since Feb. 3 when a member of the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance, who had heard about the bore hole the man had found, gave City staff a description of the location. Officials believe the bore hole had been buried for years and was uncovered by floodwaters during the October 2015 flood.
SMPD called for assistance from APD’s bomb squad, which arrived at noon and conducted a small, controlled detonation at 1 p.m. to destroy any explosive that might have been attached to the wires.
The detonation was small and posed no threat to the public or to nearby property.
Lower Purgatory Creek Natural Area remains closed while City crews and volunteers repair the extensive damage caused by last year’s flooding. Upper Purgatory Natural Area and Prospect Park, which are adjacent to the closed park, are open to the public.