Bomb found on Santa Cruz beach

An old bomb was found on a Santa Cruz beach on New Year's Eve. The sheriff's office said its bomb squad determined it was an inert bomb and they believe it washed up after the region was recently hit by big surf.

A bomb washed ashore at a Santa Cruz beach and was found on New Year's Eve.

The Santa Cruz County sheriff's bomb squad said it was an "inert military ordnance" that turned up at Pajaro Dunes.

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A bomb was found on a Santa Cruz beach on December 31, 2023. The Santa Cruz sheriff's office bomb squad determined it was an inert military ordinance that had probably been kicked up during recent rough surf along the coast. Photo: Santa Cruz County sheriff.

From: KTVU FOX 2

It had probably been kicked up from its resting place in the ocean during a recent bout of rough surf that hit the coast, according to the sheriff's office The storm damaged areas like Capitola.

The bomb was removed by personnel from the Travis Air Force Base.

Solano County's Travis Air Force Base told Fox News Digital in an email that military personnel recovered the ordnance that washed ashore on Dec. 31.

"After safely performing an on-site visual inspection and x-ray scan, the item was deemed free of explosives and safe to transport to Travis AFB," a spokesperson said. "The item was determined to be a U.S. WWII era Navy practice bomb, model Mk 15, Mod 2. It is currently being retained with Travis [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] and will remain in place to prevent future concerns."