Video of the detonation taken by reporter Israel LeFrak.

UPDATED, 8:45 p.m.: The Sheriff’s Office used a shotgun like device to detonate the grenade. Sgt. Brian Hoffman of the Arcata Police Department tells the Outpost that the site has been deemed safe and the streets have been reopened.

“The device was shotgunned if you will,” Hoffman said. “A shotgun device was used to detonate the [grenade], and at this point in time it’s hard to tell if it was live or a dud.”

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Photo: Cole Foks.

UPDATE, 7:12 p.m.: The Sheriff’s Office bomb-bot has been deployed. The Outpost’s John Ferrara, still on scene, says that all police retreated to positions of safety while the bot analyzed the grenade. They are about to detonate the thing, Ferrara says.

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UPDATE, 6:35 p.m.: The bomb squad just arrived, John Ferrara says.

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Photos: John Ferrara.

Arcata’s busy 11th and I streets intersection is closed for the time being, after a grenade was discovered underneath a stop sign there.

Sgt. Brian Hoffman of the Arcata Police Department told the Outpost’s John Ferrara, who is on scene, that it is not yet known whether the grenade is live or deactivated. However, he said, police are approaching the situation with an abundance of caution, and have evacuated nearby homes and businesses while waiting for the Sheriff’s Office’s Bomb Squad to arrive.

Full interview here:

audio

We will update when we know more.

Photos: John Ferrara.