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A loud explosion boomed through the air Tuesday afternoon near Yampa as the Arapahoe County bomb squad detonated old blasting caps found in a family safe.

The deGanahl family, residents of Yampa, had owned the safe for several generations but had forgotten the safe's combination and what its contents were. The safe sat unopened for more than 30 years until the family recently found the combination. Joe deGanahl opened it Tuesday morning on his ranch at 24300 Routt County Road 11.

When the safe door creaked open, he discovered not ancient family jewels, but several 40-year-old blasting caps, which are used to detonate dynamite.

"Thirty-five years ago, everybody had this stuff around, and I'm not sure if it's even legal to have it anymore," deGanahl said. "I last remember using caps in 1969 when we were blowing post holes for fences or destroying beaver dams."

He worried, however, about the safety of handling the caps because he didn't know whether their age made them unstable. He also was unsure whether the caps were activated electrically or with a fuse.

DeGanahl's concern was legitimate, Routt County sheriff's Lt. Richard Wood said.

"A single blasting cap is sufficient to maim or kill a person," Wood said.

DeGanahl contacted the Routt County Sheriff's Office, and because deputies are not trained specifically for such situations, they in turn contacted Arapahoe County's bomb squad.

Two squad members arrived in the afternoon at deGanahl's ranch. One of the agents put on a protective suit, retrieved the caps and drove them to a safe location on the ranch. They wrapped the caps in plastic explosive paper and duct tape and buried them in a shallow hole, deGanahl said.

"The hole doesn't have to be that deep, just deep enough so that the force of the explosion goes upward rather than outward," he said.

The squad members then detonated the caps.

Although he wore earplugs and stood 75 yards away, the explosion was loud, deGanahl said. "It was pretty impressive," he said.