World War II Bomb Found Near Lumby

An unexpected find was discovered near Lumby this week that dates back to World War II.

Part of the bomb found near Lumby (Photo Credit: RCMP Handout)

On Thursday morning RCMP in Lumby were asked by one of Tolko’s employees to come to an area off Thunder Mountain Forest Road. The employee suspected that he had found an unexploded Japanese balloon bomb. The bomb is partly embedded in the ground within the bush in the area east of Lumby. Officers photographed the bomb and the military disposal unit from Esquimalt is heading to the area to deal with the unexploded bomb.

Part of the bomb found near Lumby (Photo Credit: RCMP Handout)

North Okanagan RCMP is planning to bring out a couple of pieces of the bomb that have since fallen off and found close by, and donate them to the Lumby Museum. They hope to donate the large aluminum rings and a possibly a fin of the bomb to the Lumby Museum so a piece of World War II history can be preserved.

Part of the bomb found near Lumby (Photo Credit: RCMP Handout)

During the Second World War the Japanese fashioned incendiary bombs to balloons which were released with easterly wintertime jet stream winds above 30,000 feet to float 5,000 miles across the north Pacific. The idea was to have these devices explode over the forested regions of the Pacific Northwest and initiate large forest fires that would hopefully divert U.S. manpower from warfighting in the Pacific theater to combating fires at home.

Part of the bomb found near Lumby (Photo Credit: RCMP Handout)