Missing pyrotechnic flares: Coast Guard warns those in Milwaukee area and beyond of danger
MILWUAKEE (CBS 58) -- As of Wednesday, May 28, the Coast Guard has reported that all four phosphorus pyrotechnics have been accounted for.
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Coast Guard is warning beachgoers in the Milwaukee area and beyond to keep an eye out for three missing pyrotechnic flares, which they say can be very dangerous.
"We don’t want to turn this into a really dangerous situation," said Lieutenant Joe Neff, the Sector Lake Michigan Coast Guard public affairs officer. "If you were to remove it, and you know, it activates, it can possibly catch something on fire, or somebody."
Lt. Neff says on May 5, the Coast Guard and Air Force conducted a search and rescue training exercise about 20 miles offshore in Milwaukee using phosphorus pyrotechnics.
"Four of those pyrotechnics, flares, went into the water and didn’t activate," said Lt. Neff.
Monday, a lifeguard found one of the missing four on Montrose Beach in Illinois. However, with three left undetected and potentially not activated, Lt. Neff says it could be dangerous.
"If it were to activate, it produces a red smoke," said Lt. Neff. "The one caution we really want to hit on is the phosphorus; it can burn up to 2900 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if somebody were to be holding it, they could severely burn themselves, or if they were to remove it from the beach and it activates, it could start a fire somewhere."
While Lt. Neff says the pyrotechnics float, with Lake Michigan spanning hundreds of miles, it's not an easy find. This is something beachgoers say is unsettling.
"It doesn’t make me feel particularly safe," said Morgan Healey, who lives in Milwaukee. "I think that the lack of certainty is probably pretty concerning for me and everybody else around."
"Like, little kids come and go, and especially -- you don’t know if they could find it," said Unise Herrera, who lives in Milwaukee. "You know, they pick up anything they see at this point. It’s a little more dangerous for little kids."
Lt. Neff says if anyone happens to find one ashore, they should not touch it and call 911 immediately.
While the Coast Guard is uncertain where the other three are, Neff says it's likely they all drifted the same way and are further south.