OPERS Evacuated Last Week Due to Bomb Threat 

At around 9:30 a.m. on May 17, UC Santa Cruz officials sent out a CruzAlert about a “suspicious package” on campus. The package turned out to be an inoperable hand grenade that was first spotted at 9 a.m. in the East Field parking lot by a UCSC staff member.

“No one was injured,” said UCSC spokesman Jim Burns in an article on the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Santa Cruz police and the sheriff’s bomb squad were on the scene and determined that the grenade did not contain live ammunition.

UCSC officials evacuated the Office of Physical Recreation and Sports (OPERS) and denied access to the area until about 11:30 a.m. Hagar Drive was also closed down from the East Remote parking lot to Steinhart Way.

OPERS staff members said quarterly evacuation drills prepared them to safely bring those inside the Wellness Center and surrounding facilities to the East Field.