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SIGURD, Sevier County — Two hikers on Friday made an unusual discovery in Strawberry Canyon, officials said.
According to the Sevier County Sheriff's Office, the hikers found a cache of dynamite along with several pieces of clothing, tools, a gun, pots and pans, and some aspirin in an alcove under a cliff in the canyon, which is a branch of South Cedar Ridge Canyon west of Sigurd.
The clothing appeared to have been dug up by pack rats and coyotes, the office said.
"As they were pulling some of the items up from the ground, they found a bundle of dynamite in a burlap sack along with some blasting caps," officials said. Smaller sticks of dynamite in the cache had partially crystallized.
After making the discovery, the hikers left the area and called the sheriff's office. On Saturday, they took a sheriff's deputy to the area where they found the unusual stash.
The sheriff's office contacted the Utah County bomb squad.
"Because of the remoteness of the location, the bomb squad utilized the (Utah Highway Patrol/Department of Public Safety) helicopter to land near the mouth of the canyon. The bomb squad felt it was best to detonate the dynamite in place due to the possibility of more being buried but not wanting to disturb the crystallized sticks of dynamite," according to the release.
Officials said crystallized dynamite can be volatile and should not be handled.
On Sunday, authorities detonated the dynamite using other explosives from the bomb squad.
"At this time, there is believed to be no further risk at this location," the office said.
