Both sides of Interstate 5 were closed this afternoon after officials discovered what appears to be a grenade on the roadway. [Updated at 2:15 p.m.: The grenade has been removed, and at least part of the freeway has reopened.]
The traffic backup was building on both sides of the freeway due to the closure, which occurred at Avenida Pico.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad was called in to assess the scene, and officials from the U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton were also being brought in to assist.
Traffic was being diverted onto surface streets.
CHP officer Eric Barnard said the call about the grenade came in around 11:15 p.m. The device, which has wires coming out of it, was found on the southbound side of the freeway.
"We don’t know its origin at this time," he said.
The bomb squad was preparing to detonate the device on the shoulder.
— Andrew Blankstein
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