HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (KUTV) — Hill Air Force Base is set to begin its season of large denotations, which have raised concerns among northern Utah residents in previous years due to traveling vibrations and audible booms.
The detonations, which will begin in March and continue through September, will involve more than 10,000 pounds of explosives. The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to destroy outdated and obsolete Department of Defense rocket motors at the Utah Test and Training Range, located 80 miles west of Salt Lake City in the West Desert.
Amanda Burton, chief of the Environmental Branch at the 75th Civil Engineer Group, said detonations are the most environmentally friendly method for disposing of these devices. Since 2012, more than 300 rocket motors have been destroyed at the training range, which is the only location in the U.S. authorized for these operations.
Hill AFB officials said weather conditions – including wind speed and direction – are considered before detonations. Operations are temporarily called off if conditions imply that sound levels could exceed levels permitted along the Wasatch Front.
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“No sound prediction model is 100 percent accurate,” Burton said. “On some occasions, residents in northern Utah have reported feeling vibrations minutes after a detonation on the range.” In the past, loud booms caused by these explosions have caused residents to scramble while trying to confirm the source. On the other end of the valley, detonations at the Tooele Army depot caused similar panic, leading to nearly 1,400 calls to 911 in just one day.
Beginning later this month, one to two detonations will occur each week at the Hill Air Force Base, although the schedule may change depending on weather, workload, and other factors.
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