Tooele Army Depot, Hill Air Force Base begins planned detonations at test range

SALT LAKE CITY — Hill Air Force Base has begun large detonations at the Utah Test and Training Range. 

Base officials assure these are controlled detonations, and that there is no reason to be alarmed.  But they said residents may hear and feel the effects based on reactions during a recent detonation.  

The Tooele Army Depot said in a post on X it was conducting open detonations Monday.

 “The detonation that happened last week, people heard it on the base. So it could be as far as Layton and Salt Lake. It kinda depends on the circumstances of the weather,” said Kendahl Johnson, public affairs officer with Hill Air Force Base.

Hill Air Force Base explains reasons for detonations

The detonations are to destroy old or obsolete Department of Defense rocket motors, and they are so loud because they involve more than 10,000 pounds of net explosive weight. Johnson said to be prepared for the noise, so there’s not an urge to call the police in a panic.

“Just knowing in advance that these are happening, there’s no reason to call the news or be concerned at all. They can just expect that they might hear something in the next week,” Johnson said.

The Utah Test and Training Range is approximately 80 miles west of Salt Lake City in Utah’s West Desert. However, residents in Weber County reported feeling the effects of the first detonation last week. Depending on conditions, several northern Utah counties could hear the booms from this week’s detonations.

According to a press release from Hill Air Force Base, a detonation is the best way, environmentally, to dispose of large rocket motors.

Related: Officials confirm booming noises came from Tooele Army Depot