LAKEPORT, Calif. – A mortar found in a package at the UPS customer center in Lakeport was safely detonated early Thursday afternoon.

Employees at the UPS center, located at 1275 Craig Ave., discovered the device earlier in the day and contacted Lakeport Police, as Lake County News has reported.

The package containing the mortar was addressed to a Clearlake resident, according to Lakeport Police Lt. Jason Ferguson.

Ferguson said police secured the location in preparation for the Napa County bomb squad, which arrived shortly before 1:30 p.m.

The bomb squad put up a small bunker around the device – which an employee had moved to a nearby field – and used their own explosives to detonate it, according to Ferguson.

“The device was determined to be inert,” Ferguson said.

He said the investigation is ongoing as to the package's recipient and the individual shipping it.

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