Recent storm-driven swells influenced by a burgeoning El Niño have warmed ocean waters, leading to erosion along California’s coastline. These conditions have attracted atypical marine life and artifacts.
Among these unexpected finds, Ventura County officials reported discovering a Navy MK25 phosphorus location marker on a local beach. This marine marker, used for creating visible signals in water, was unlike anything anticipated. Details regarding its origin and exact discovery site remain unclear. Despite attempts to obtain further information, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department did not offer immediate comments.
An Instagram post by Ventura’s Sheriff Bomb Squad highlighted the discovery, echoing sentiments from the Orange County Bomb Squad that recent storms might have caused several markers to surface. A vigilant beachgoer, fearing for public safety, took the marker home and alerted authorities.
The Sheriff’s Bomb Squad, alongside a Navy explosive ordnance disposal unit from Point Mugu, addressed the situation at the residence where the device was brought. While the citizen acted with good intentions, officials cautioned that such marine markers are perilous, even when wet or seemingly spent. If removed from water, any residual phosphorus could dry, spontaneously ignite, or explode with movement. These markers can burn at temperatures reaching 3,000 degrees and are highly toxic.
Remarkably, this was not the sole unusual find linked to the stormy seas. In the summer, another hazardous item surfaced. Officials from Ventura County and naval explosive teams tackled a Super Bazooka round at Mugu State Beach. Located within Point Mugu State Park along Pacific Coast Highway, the ordnance originated from a 1950s military training ground.
Pervasive erosion and changing tides often reveal military equipment, as outlined in an earlier Instagram post from the sheriff’s team. This specific ordnance was too risky for transport and necessitated immediate disposal, temporarily closing both the beach and Pacific Coast Highway.
Ventura County’s bomb squad advises the public to refrain from touching items that resemble bombs or military gear. Instead, individuals should evacuate the vicinity and contact 911.
Moreover, the region’s shifting shoreline exposed historical jetties in August, initially built to counteract beach erosion and safeguard homes at Newport Harbor’s entrance. The warmer waters attracted unique marine visits, with a hammerhead shark spotted near Malibu Pier and an unprecedented nesting occurrence of olive ridley sea turtles in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.
Typically native to tropical areas across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, these turtles generally nest in various Central American countries. The nesting of two turtles along California’s coast marks a historic event, not witnessed before.
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