The U.S. Coast Guard is warning Chicago area residents to be careful what they pick up along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Three dangerous phosphorus pyrotechnic devices used in an offshore training exercise, well to the north near Milwaukee, are unaccounted for. Several did not activate and could wash up on shore. One already has, but was recovered by the Coast Guard.
The silver cylinder-shaped devices let loose with a flame that creates tremendous heat, as high as 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit. The cloud of red smoke they also create helps mark sites on the surface of the water.
ABC7 TV in Chicago reported that a lifeguard found one of the dangerous flares Monday. It had washed up on the shore at Chicago’s Montrose Beach, a popular waterfront site and dog park about six miles due north of downtown Chicago.
Anyone in the entire region of southern Lake Michigan locating anything that looks like a small metallic cylinder-shaped object in the water, or washed up on shore, is advised to move away and call 911.
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