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Mysterious bang booms over Sumas Mountain once again

Police unsure of source, quarry companies say, ‘not us’
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Comments taken from the Facebook group, Abbotsford Rants and Raves.

Another mysterious bang shook Abbotsford residents around Sumas Mountain late last night.

The loud boom was heard just after 10 p.m., Feb. 18, according to numerous people in a popular neighbourhood Facebook group.

“Any else just hear the loud bang / explosion?!” The post says. “[It] was very loud. I heard it over the TV!”

Commenters confirmed the noise was heard in the Auguston, Yale, Old Clayburn Village, Bateman Park, McMillan and Sandy Hill areas on, or surrounding the mountain.

The Abbotsford Police Department didn’t receive any reports of the bang, but some of the officers who live in the area heard it themselves, according to Sgt. Judy Bird, media officer for the department.

“We heard it, but we don’t know what it is,” Bird said. “Apparently it woke up some of our own members.”

Bird said police would response to any reports in the area if “there was an explosion, if there were shots fired, if there was anything like that.”

This is not the first time the phantom bang has been heard sounding off the top of the mountain – not even the first time this year.

On Jan. 9, 2020, a very similar bang reportedly shook homes in the same area, close to the same time of night, around 9:30 p.m. Dozens of Facebook commenters confirmed they heard it, but the police and fire departments, again, said they had no reports.

RELATED: Mysterious bang shakes homes in east Abbotsford

Three or four loud booms were heard coming over the U.S. border in 2016, but it was later confirmed the Bellingham Police Department were detonating expired explosives in Whatcom County. The department said they would notify the City of Abbotsford before lighting off any more explosives in the future.

RELATED: Loud bangs heard across Abbotsford were explosive disposal in U.S.

Perhaps the most strange, were explosions heard across the city in 2012, which caused significant “ground shaking.” The U.S. Air Force later confirmed they were the source, vaguely stating they were conducting some form of test.

RELATED: ‘Explosion’ sounds coming from across the border, U.S. Air Force the cause

Several companies which operate rock quarries on the mountain said it didn’t come from them, and do not conduct any late-night blasting.

The News has reached out to the City of Abbotsford to see if they have any information about the bang.