COSTA MESA/NEWPORT/IRVINE : IRVINE : Lighted Pipe Bomb Found in Street

The police bomb squad dismantled a crude, foot-long pipe bomb found in a residential neighborhood Wednesday morning.

The device, a metal tube stuffed with pyrotechnics, was found on the street in the 4500 block of Sierra Tree Lane. Although its fuse had been lit, the bomb failed to detonate, Irvine Police Sgt. Phil Povey said.

The bomb’s crude construction suggests it was made by juveniles. “We don’t even know if it was powerful enough to bust its own sides” or cause significant damage to the area, Povey said.

The device, resting on the pavement about 50 feet from several homes, was discovered by a resident at 8:19 a.m. Bomb squad members disarmed and removed it by 10:30 a.m.

No one was evacuated, although police blocked off the streets and asked residents to stay inside their homes while the bomb was being disassembled, Povey said.

One resident, who lives across the street from where the device was found, said he was awakened by an explosion earlier Wednesday morning.

Emmitt Osburn, 74, said the noise occurred about 2 a.m. and seemed to come from a nearby park. Because he heard nothing afterward, “I went back to bed and didn’t think anything more of it until I saw the police here.”