Forest Ranger Becomes Target Of 2 Bombings

Published: August 6, 1995

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A bomb exploded under a van on Friday at the home of a Forest Service ranger whose office was shattered by a pipe bomb four months ago.

Investigators said the attack might be linked to the earlier one. There were no injuries and no one claimed responsibility for either incident.

Friday's bomb was either thrown or placed underneath the van of the ranger, Guy Pence, said Jerry Mather, the Sheriff's Department's chief deputy for operations. The van was parked in the driveway of Mr. Pence's home.

Mr. Mather said the explosion, just before 10 P.M., destroyed the van and broke a few windows in Mr. Pence's home. Mr. Pence was on a trip in central Nevada, but his wife and three children were in the house, on the south side of Nevada's capital city.

The authorities evacuated the family and four neighbors. The Forest Service office and the homes and vehicles of other agency employees were checked after the bombing. No other explosive devices were found.

Erin O'Connor, a spokeswoman for the Forest Service, said: "We're shocked at the violence directed toward Forest Service employees. And we're doing all we can to insure the safety of the employees and their families."

On March 30, a pipe bomb exploded at the Forest Service office where Mr. Pence works. The explosion blew out a window and damaged walls. The office was unoccupied at the time.

On Halloween 1993 a bomb was tossed onto the roof of the state headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Land Management in Reno. Both the bureau and the Forest Service have been involved in issues that are central to the "Sagebrush Rebellion," protests against Federal regulation of public lands, including increased fees for grazing livestock, mining on Federal land and public access to lands under their control.

Mr. Mather said that the bombing on Friday was not linked to the April 24 explosion that killed the head of the California Forestry Association. The April 24 bombing is among those considered to be part of the Unabom case.