The explosives, which are probably used in illegal homemade fireworks operations, were found at a Pacoima home that exploded on Thursday, seriously injured one man and drove dozens of families, police said.
Authorities received a call at 9:01 a.m. Thursday about an explosion at a home in the 13,000 block of West Remington Street. A news release from the Los Angeles Fire Department said that light smoke was discovered from a partially collapsed home.
Investigators found explosives inside the damaged residence, LAPD said.
“The LAPD bomb squad has identified explosives inside the partially collapsed structure, some of which are black powder and are known to be used to construct illegal homemade fireworks,” Los Angeles police officer Drake Madison said Friday. “They are currently working to identify all of the potentially dangerous materials to ensure that the affected area is safe.”
Authorities said the property is a site of aggressive investigation and structural safety concerns.
A 24-year-old man was inside the house during the explosion, according to LAFD spokesman Lyndsey Lantz. Residents with severe burns or other injuries were taken to hospital in dangerous conditions.
The family told authorities that four dogs were believed to be at home during the explosion. Lantz said three dogs were safely recovered. The fourth was trapped in a property line and rescued by firefighters, a LAFD news release said.
LAPD bomb squad officials will visit the scene of the Pacoima home explosion on Friday.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
About 10 city departments responded to the scene on Thursday, according to the LAFD.
LAFD chief Ronnie Villanueva said about 60 households were asked to evacuate Thursday night.
Yolanda Maya, president of the American Red Cross, said the shelter had been set up at the Richie Valens Evacuation Center in Pacoima.
“Everyone is welcome to stay here,” Maya said. “We offer showers, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and other support that people need when we go.”
Angel Sauceda, director of Red Cross Regional Communication, said the shelter will continue to operate until the evacuation order is lifted. Overnight stay beds are available, Sauced said.
“It’s a slow, orderly process to ensure the safety of our community and staff engaged in the incident,” said LAPD officer Madison. “We are grateful for the patience of the community members affected by this incident and subsequent evacuation.”
Madison said LAPD is working with Councillor Monica Rodriguez’s office to provide hotel vouchers to displaced people.
“Tradically, illegal activities by individuals put the lives and property of the entire neighborhood at risk,” Rodriguez said in a statement posted on social media. “As I work to resolve this unstable situation, my main focus is protecting the lives and property of affected communities, taking all possible precautions.”
At a press conference Friday, Mayor Karen Bass said the authorities would have had controlled burns on property that was damaged on Friday night and disposed of the toxic substances.
“All other options are being considered. Public safety leaders have made it clear that it is not safe to enter the property due to unstable materials due to unstable materials within,” Bass said. “Special metal mesh fences are built around controlled burns to protect surrounding homes from the possibility of firing.”
Additional surrounding homes are being asked to evacuate, according to the LAPD. Heat gel is placed in nearby homes to prevent further contamination.
“This is a criminal investigation, a joint investigation, both state and federal,” said Kennescooper, special agents of the Arco Hall Federal Bureau, cigarettes, firearms and explosives at the press conference. “It’s a bomb in nature, and as a government-wide approach, we came up with the safest way to provide safety.”
