An explosive threat was neutralized Wednesday afternoon in downtown Nevada City after an ordeal that began 20 years ago when a man was gifted an M type explosive device, according to authorities.

On Wednesday the man — who was reportedly cleaning out his garage — came across the explosive and brought it to the Nevada City Police Department to dispose of it.

“A gentleman brought him a stick of dynamite,” Nevada City interim Police Chief Ted Stec said of the man. “He saw it and figured the right thing to do was to bring it to the police department to dispose of it.”

Stec described how lobby staff became uneasy at the situation before ordering evacuations of nearby businesses, shutting down a 1,000-foot stretch of Broad Street between Fur Traders and the Nevada Theatre, and calling in the Placer County Explosive Ordinance Disposal team.

Upon the team’s arrival, a robot was used to gain access to the interior of a vehicle, pull the explosive device out, and place the device on the sidewalk.

Once on the sidewalk, team members then approached the device before placing it inside a receptacle, to be put inside a trailer for later disposal.

The explosive device was determined to be a homemade version with an unknown age and origin. It’s unknown whether the explosive device was a remnant of the local gold mining era, or brought back as a souvenir from fighting in a foreign war.

“I would suggest never accepting an item like that,” Stec said, who advised against bringing such items into populated areas.

“The key is not touching those things,” Stec added. “Staying away, who knows what the shelf life or stability is.”

Broad Street was reopened to traffic by 4 p.m. and merchants and customers were allowed to repopulate the area.

To contact Multimedia Reporter Elias Funez, email efunez@theunion.com or call 530-477-4230

Elias Funez is the multimedia reporter for The Union, a sister publication of the Sierra Sun. He can be reached at efunez@theunion.com