MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – An unexploded ordnance was found at a construction site on Carolina Forest Boulevard on Wednesday.
Horry County Fire Rescue spokesperson Mark Nugent said the ordnance was detonated by Shaw Air Force Base. The department hadn’t received any reports of injuries.
According to Lt. Alannah Staver with Shaw Air Force Base, construction crews working on the site notified Horry County Police they’d found ordnance items, who then called in the Air Force. Staver said EOD personnel detonated a total of 12 ordnance, only four of which were filled with explosives. The area used to be a part of a World War II bombing range.
Several people who live in The Farm subdivision off Carolina Forest Boulevard, across the street from where the ordnances were found, said they heard and felt two explosions.
“I was just standing in the garage and I heard this loud boom. It had to be more like a bomb, not like a gunshot. You could feel the ground move and everything,” said Dan Wilder.
“I was upstairs in our master bathroom and the mirrors rattled. My mind automatically went to, ‘Oh it was maybe another bomb that they found,'” said Jenna Hostetler.
She was at home when the Horry County bomb squad detonated another ordnance found in the area in February. According to Lt. Staver, it is the Horry County Police Department’s responsibility to notify the public about detonations. However, Hostetler said she didn’t receive any prior warning either time.
“It would have been nice to have a heads up,” she said. She said the only notification she received was “just what I saw on the news.”
Hostetler is also building a home on the site where the ordnance was recently found, and is worried her home maybe in jepaordy, especially since buried propane tanks are allowed in the area.
“I’m wondering if my house being built has one under it. They’ve hopefully checked all that. I have plans to make sure all that’s checked out,” she said.
She said she spoke with representatives with R.S. Parker and H&H Homes, who said they’ve used underground detectors and other tools to make sure the area is secure for building.