Sixty homes have been evacuated in the Pacoima area after an explosion from the house rattles the neighborhood.
Mayor Karen Bass said on Friday the enormous amount of explosives found inside the facility in the 13,000 block of Remington Street was too dangerous to transport from the neighborhood. Instead, authorities eliminate dangerous materials through what she calls “controlled burns.”
“All options are being considered,” Bass said. “The public safety leader has made it clear that it is not safe to enter the property due to dangerous materials inside.”
According to the LAFD, the powerful explosion caused a 24-year-old man to be seriously injured, with more than half of his body being seriously injured after being burned for the second or third time.
Four dogs were also rescued from their property.
When LAPD investigated with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, federal officials confirmed this was a criminal investigation.
“It’s essentially a bomb,” said Kenneth R. Cooper, a special agent responsible for the ATF’s Los Angeles Field Office. “We use fires, slow, orderly burns to mitigate that threat to public safety.”
The explosion was first reported at about 9am Thursday. Firefighters discovered that the house had partially collapsed.
Police said Black Power was found, where fireworks and other explosives were produced and other explosives were found.
“The LAPD Bomb Squad continues to try to identify all the materials under the partially collapsed housing. It is important to identify all of these before continuing to clean up and proceed with ways to keep this neighborhood safe.”
Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are investigating what caused the explosion. It is unclear whether authorities are considering filing a charge against the injured man or anyone else at this point in the investigation.
“Obviously, a person’s happiness is prioritized at this point, but we also recognize that there is potentially illegal material in the home, so if the investigation goes a little further, there’s a little more about it,” Terzes said.
Initially, 26 homes were evacuated, and neighbors were not informed of when they could return home.
“Booo! Very bad. It was moving like this and waving homes. It was like a hurricane,” said Salvador del Toro, who lived nearby. “Well, I feel bad because he kicked me out when I didn’t do anything. Let’s see what happens.”
The American Red Cross Los Angeles area has opened an emergency shelter at the Richie Valens Recreation Center for families kicked out by the explosion.
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