WALLA WALLA -- A suspicious item resembling a pipe bomb was found to be a piece of pipe connected to what appeared to be parts from a household smoke detector, Walla Walla police said Thursday.

Police were notified at 1:30 p.m. of a "beeping" noise coming from a tree in the front yard of a home in the 500 block of Bryant Avenue. An officer saw a 6-inch piece of pipe, threaded on both ends, attached by a wire to a battery powered beeper.

Bryant Avenue was closed to all traffic from Howard to Division Streets until shortly after 5 p.m. The Tri-City-based Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad responded, and Trooper Don Bancroft, wearing a protective suit, attached a clamp to the device. It was then removed from the tree and demolished with a pressure cannon.