A suspected bomb at the downtown Truckee Amtrak station was determined to be a false alarm Thursday night, but not before the historic main street area was evacuated for several hours.
The discovery of a black leather brief case placed near a gas meter at the Amtrak depot on Truckee's historic Commercial Row forced the evacuation of the area at about 5:15 p.m. and closed down the Union Pacific Railroad's main route over the Sierra Nevada for approximately four hours.
After the Placer County Sheriff's Office bomb squad reported to the scene at approximately 8 p.m., officers X-rayed the brief case and then fired a water cannon at it. The luggage failed to explode.
Officers then opened the bag at about 9:15 p.m. to discover clothing items, according to Alex Terrazas, the Town of Truckee's assistant to town manager.
"It's better to be safe than sorry," Terrazas said.
The discovery of the suspicious brief case came after Amtrak officials contacted the Town of Truckee earlier in the week during routine communications to be on the lookout for suspicious activity, Terrazas said.