Missing armed phosphorus pyrotechnics all accounted for, Coast Guard says

(WGN) — Two days after an armed maritime flare washed up on Montrose Beach, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that the remaining missing phosphorus pyrotechnics have been found.

The Coast Guard’s Great Lakes Division tweeted Wednesday evening all four pyrotechnics previously reported missing have been accounted for.

According to the Coast Guard, three phosphorus pyrotechnics were still unaccounted for as of Tuesday afternoon after a joint military exercise between the Coast Guard and Air Force off the coast of Milwaukee earlier this month.

During the exercise, four phosphorus pyrotechnics, which Coast Guard officials also described as a maritime flare, did not activate when they were deployed in the water.

The first one discovered on Montrose Beach Monday was found by a lifeguard. The Chicago Fire Department’s bomb squad was called to the scene and disposed of the pyrotechnic, and the Coast Guard went on to issue a warning to midwestern residents about the flares, which were considered to still be armed if they did not ignite after hitting the water.

The pyrotechnics are silver-colored cylinders that produce a red smoke and flame that can reach temperatures upward of 2900 degrees Fahrenheit.