For the second time in less than four months, an unexploded military ordnance has been found in a North Okanagan park.
The discoveries have one hiker calling for more action to clear the potentially explosive debris from Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park, in the Okanagan region of British Columbia.
The ordnance are believed to be left over from Second World War training exercises in what is now parkland.
Bob Hollier made the first discovery when he was hiking in the provincial park in May with his son.
“It’s pretty surprising but also disturbing that anybody walking in this beautiful park could come accross one,” said Hollier.
The Canadian Forces Explosive Disposal Unit was called in.
According to Hollier, the discovery was a live mortar and the explosive disposal unit blew it up in place.
“Thankfully no one was hurt from this one,” Hollier said.
This week a nature photographer was hiking up a slope in the park when he made a second discovery of an unexploded ordnance.
Andrew Nydam said he inadvertently got within a few feet of the metallic object, nearly stepping on it, before he spotted it.
“My heart got racing pretty quickly just looking down and seeing potentially a bomb there,” Nydam said.
“But I also thought, “It’s been sitting here for several decades…it’s probably not going to go off unless I step on it or mess with it in some way.’ So I figured I was safe.”
In both cases the hikers were off the park’s trails when they made the discoveries.
The discoveries have Hollier calling for more action to clear the park of the potentially explosive military debris.
The province said developed areas of the park have been swept for ordnance and it is urging people to stay on designated trails.
While neither the province nor National Denfence commented on whether there are further plans to sweep the park for UXO, National Defence cautioned that, in general, UXO can be difficult to fully clear even for professionals.
“The limits of current UXO detection methods mean that even the most thorough inspection and clearance operations cannot reduce UXO safety risks to zero,” a National Defence spokesperson wrote in a statement to Global News.
“However, we continue to work on reducing UXO risks at former military sites and ensure these areas are safe for Canadians.”
The province said it is working with the military to update existing signage about UXO in the park.
National Defence said there are 520 sites in Canada and Canadian waters where military activities may have created UXO.