A report of a bomb threat at the RV encampment on Hoffman Road Thursday night turned out to be less than explosive.

Island County Sheriff Rick Felici said that a man in an RV at the North Whidbey site called 911 at about 7 p.m. to report that people were outside banging on his door and yelling something about a bomb. Dispatcher notes on the call indicated that the man was difficult to hear because of dogs barking.

Two law enforcement agencies, a fire department and an ambulance responded to the scene but responders soon realized that there were no explosives. The sheriff said the people may have heard the sound of “bird cannons” from nearby Naval Air Station Whidbey. The cannons don’t shoot anything but make a noise to keep birds away from aircraft.

Deputies, firefighters and paramedics are no stranger to the ramshackle homeless RV camp on the side of the road just north of Oak Harbor. Firefighters responded to three fires in the last year, including a recent RV fire in which a dog died. Earlier this month, the North Whidbey Fire and Rescue fire chief reported receiving more than 40 medical calls to the area since March.

Felici recently announced that he will move forward with removing RVs and other vehicles in the area after attempts to offer assistance to people at the site largely failed. The process, however, will take time.