SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — After 65 years, the U.S. military now says an old bombing range near Sahuarita could be a danger to the public.
The range, which is on state trust land, is near a high school, a church and a new housing development.
In the 1940s and '50s, 27,000 acres east of Sahuarita was used as an Air Force bombing range for training during World War II.
But bombs, fuses, and ammo have all been found in this area, prompting action from the state and federal government.
The action for now is to put up 100 warning signs around the site. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is spearheading the effort and should be done by the end of March.
You can see a map of the site here. It extends from Wilmot Road west, almost to South Nogales Highway, and many miles north to south.
“I’d just hate as the mayor, as a citizen, for something to go wrong," Sahuarita Mayor Tom Murphy said.
So far, no one has reported injuries from anything old they've run into on the range.
But as Sahuarita grows, the range is now near a new housing development and a church.
Mayor Murphy said he thinks this is why it has taken six decades to start cleaning up the range.
“I guess my one wish would have been before we had all this growth, they had the initiative to clean it up before now," Murphy said.
Also near the site is Walden Grove High School in the Sahuarita Unified School District.
Superintendent Manuel Valenzuela said before this new signage project, the district had been in communication with the military. He said they know about their school and have made sure everything within the property limits is safe.
“As much as we can continue reinforcing messages that support education and safety, we will continue to do what we can to convey those kinds of message," Valenzuela says.
The next step is for the Army Corps of Engineers to submit a plan to the community on how they will clean up the site, but right now there is no timeline on when that plan will be announced.
Mayor Murphy said he's heard the project could take around 15 years to complete.
