SEQUIM — A U.S. Army unit exploded naval ordnance that washed ashore on Dungeness Spit at about 1 p.m. Thursday, startling neighbors in the area.

Three explosions were reported by neighbors in the vicinity of Dungeness Landing Park, where smoke rose above the bluffs.

Members of the 129th EOD Company from Joint Base Lewis-McChord destroyed several pieces of naval ordnance that washed ashore on the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, said John Norgren, spokesman for the base.

“We were called in by [the state Department of Fish and] Wildlife to dispose of training ordnance,” Norgren said.

The 18-inch-long shells are phosphorus markers fired in military training to visually identify a target area, he said.

Norgren said it was the second time the ordnance-disposal unit had visited the area in the past week.

Last week, additional ordnance was destroyed in the same area, he said.

The ordnance found on the beaches was thought to be of Canadian origin, said Dave Falzetti, wildlife officer at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

During last week’s visit, the ordnance was destroyed on the Spit itself, which disturbed the birds that are protected there, Falzetti said.

The unit returned Thursday to destroy the remaining ordnance at the nearby Dungeness Landing Park, he said.

Falzetti said beachcombers and beach cleaners often find the shells, clearly marked with warnings in English and French, and either report them or turn them over to his office.

“Some are expended, but some are duds, unexploded,” Falzetti said.

He said even those that have already been expended still have some phosphorous.

“It burns very hot,” he said.

________

Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.