1 dangerous phosphorus flare from military exercise found at Montrose Beach, 3 more still out there

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By Marissa Sulek, Adam Harrington

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    MONTROSE BEACH, Illinois (WBBM) — A potentially dangerous phosphorus flare washed up on Montrose Beach this week after a military exercise gone wrong, and the U.S. Coast Guard said three more are still in the water.

The Coast Guard wants everyone to be on high alert.

The flares are silver-colored cylinders, which the Coast Guard said measure 15 to 18 inches long and have warning labels.

The flares activate when they hit the water or when a cap and screw are removed, and produce a red smoke and flame that can reach 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit, the Coast Guard said.

Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan said the flares were used for a joint military exercise with the Air Force back on May 5 offshore from Milwaukee. Four phosphorus pyrotechnics failed to activate as they were supposed to when they hit the water during the exercise, the Coast Guard said.

With one flare found, all the Coast Guard can do now is warn people that more might be coming.

The phosphorus flares are typically used as signals or visual markers for military vessels in the water.

“If it were to activate with somebody holding it, it could burn at 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit — and we just don’t want to see anybody get hurt,” said Coast Guard Lt. Joe Neff.

The Coast guard said the flare at Montrose Beach on Monday was found by a lifeguard. Montrose Beach is a popular beach known in particular for its dog-friendly area and its piping plovers — the newest generation of birds laid their first egg at the beach just last week.

Chicago beaches also opened for the season this week.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard said three more flares could still be in the water That is why if people come across one, the Coast Guard says they should leave it and should not touch it, and should call 911 so authorities can take them for proper disposal.

“They may have activated over the past three weeks, but we don’t know that,” Neff said, “so we’re just treating them all as if they’re armed.”

CBS News Chicago asked the Coast Guard why we are just now finding out about a possible hazard when the exercise took place three weeks ago.

The Coast Guard said once the flares are put in the water, it is dangerous to pick them up and put them back in the vessel, so they leave them. They are asking others to do the same.

“The last thing we want to do is someone pick it up, try to take it home, put it in their vehicle, and it activates — and it turns into a very dangerous situation,” said Lt. Neff.

The Coast Guard said the Chicago police Bomb Squad took the flare that was found at Montrose Beach, and has its own procedure on how to take care of it.

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