NEWTON FALLS, Ohio -  The Ohio Army National Guard is alerting residents and business owners near Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center that they may notice an increase in blast noise around Newton Falls.

Explosives will be used during training Wednesday and Thursday, May 11-12, 2022, as the Guard’s 147th Regiment will be conducting training exercises specifically designed for soldiers taking the combat engineer course.

Explosives training increases Army engineers’ readiness and simulates realistic battle conditions.

Sounds from the explosions may be heard farther away than what occurs during normal operations, according to a news release.

There will be intermittent explosions and gunfire at the facility during the annual training season, which runs through September.

Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center is a 21,000-acre Ohio Army National Guard training site in Portage and Trumbull counties that consists of small arms weapons ranges and permanent facilities to support individual and collective training events for both weekends and annual training.

The installation is undergoing infrastructure improvements including a fire and movement range and a new automated record fire range.