Advertisement Device that shut down Hwy 12 tied to Geocaching game Roadways reopened by 3 p.m. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A prize from a scavenger hunt looked like a possible bomb to highway work crews, and prompted the California Highway Patrol to shut down Highway 12 at Interstate 80 near Fairfield on Tuesday afternoon, a CHP officer said.A Caltrans crew working along the highway found a tube affixed with magnets and tape to a streetlight pole at 12:24 p.m., CHP Officer Chris Parker said.The CHP responded and could not identify the device. As a precaution, the highway was closed as well as westbound I-80 at Red Top Road.The Napa County sheriff's bomb squad used water to dislodge it from the light pole, Parker said.The bomb squad determined that it was a tube affixed to the pole for a Geocaching game -- a scavenger hunt-like game where players are directed to a prize or further instructions through GPS coordinates, Parker said.He was not sure what the tube contained. The roadways reopened by 3 p.m., CHP officials said.