LANDER — The Sweetwater County Bomb Squad was called to Lander Wednesday to investigate what turned out to be a fake pipe bomb.

According to the Lander Police Department, the department responded to a suspicious package report at the 400 block of Buena Vista Drive, along the Popo Agie River Walk, at about 9:20 a.m. Sweetwater County’s bomb squad was called in to investigate and discovered the package was a fake pipe bomb. The bomb squad disposed of the package and the LPD says there is no ongoing threat to public safety.

The bomb squad is made up of bomb technicians from the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, the Rock Springs Police Department, and the Green River Police Department. The bomb squad regularly responds to calls from outside Sweetwater County, with an area of responsibility that extends into Vernal, Utah, and as far north as Yellowstone National Park. The squad also responds to calls from Wyoming’s western border to Rawlins. Overall, the squad’s coverage area protects 149,000 people. 

The bomb squad was recently able to purchase new equipment through a $244,113.41 grant from the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security.