WOODLAND, Wash. - Woodland police cordoned off a major thoroughfare to deal with what looked like a hand grenade laying in the street. The discovery of the "suspicious item" happened 12:30 p.m. Saturday, and has kept traffic and pedestrian access to the area controlled for several hours.

The device was found near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Columbia Street, close to McDonald's and a Safeway grocery store and gas station. The area was cordoned off while police awaited the arrival of the Portland-Clark County bomb squad.

"That alone prompts extra caution with public safety being of the utmost concern," reports a Woodland police press release. "Police will limit or deny access to the immediate area until explosives experts can examine the item and make a determination on exactly what it is and its level of danger, if any."

The bomb squad deemed the item as "safe." All public through-ways have been reopened.

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