WALLA WALLA, Wash. — A fisherman’s discovery of a strange device this weekend led to the brief closure of U.S. Highway 730 in Walla Walla and Umatilla counties.

Law enforcement closed the highway near milepost 196 along the Columbia River on Saturday, May 15.

Washington and Oregon transportation departments reported Highway 730 closed in both directions at the junction of U.S. Highway 12 due to “law enforcement activity.”

Initially, the call to the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office was for drug activity, with possible drug paraphernalia. When the deputy arrived on the scene at 9:08 a.m. and observed the device, it was described as bottles wrapped with electrical tape and wires coming from them, UCSO Lt. Sterrin Ward said.

There also was a strong smell of either ammonia or some type of accelerant, Ward said.

At 9:58 a.m., the sheriff’s office contacted Oregon State Police bomb technicians. That team arrived at 2:03 p.m., and the Oregon Department of Transportation closed the highway shortly after.

The nature of the device was inconclusive, Ward said, but at around 4:45 p.m., the device was destroyed and the highway reopened.