The Department of National Defence confirms unexploded bombs from the Second World War lie buried inside the Mer Bleue Bog, a popular hiking and skiing area in Ottawa’s east end.
The existence of the bombs was unveiled this week through documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.
A DND spokesperson says the bombs are buried in approximately 865 hectares of land consisting primarily of peat bog. The parkland was actively used as a practice bombing range between 1942 and 1945.
The Mer Bleue Bog is approximately 7,700 years old, according to the NCC, and is a habitat for many species of regionally and significantly rare plants, birds and other wildlife. More than 20 kilometres of trails offer hiking in the summer months and cross-country skiing in the winter.
While it’s unclear how many bombs are buried at the site, historical aerial photographs and maps provided by DND reveal the former bombing range’s target areas, with small red crosses on the map corresponding to the site’s impact craters.
This map provided by DND reveals the former Mer Bleue Bog bombing range’s target areas. The small red crosses on the map correspond to the site’s impact craters. (Department of National Defence/Provided)
Some of the munitions included aerial bombs that weigh up to 1,000 pounds.
DND says the unexploded ordnance (UXO) risk to the public is low because the impact areas of the bombs lie in the bog itself – ensuring little to no human contact.
“The historic bomb impact areas are deep within the bog away from any of the public use areas,” a statement to CTV News said.
The National Capital Commission purchased the land from DND in 1964 to turn the space into parkland. The NCC was made aware of the existence of the bombs on the site at the time, DND said.
“In 1960, a bomb disposal team was tasked with the clearance of this range. However, the range was never cleared and could not be declared free of explosives due to the nature of the terrain,” DND said.
DND says any future development at site will require a qualified site assessment from bomb experts.
