Photo: iStockphoto
An entire neighborhood in Holladay, Utah, was evacuated early Wednesday (April 24) morning after firefighters discovered a home was filled with "ancient" dynamite. Captain Tony Barker of Unified Fire Authority said that the department received a call on Tuesday from a homeowner who said a family member handed her the dynamite stick, but she didn't know what to do with it.
When firefighters arrived, they locked down the street and began to inspect the home, finding a massive amount of dynamite stored throughout the property.
When asked if the dynamite was stored inside the home or in a garage or shed, Barker replied, "Yes. All of it, correct."
Barker said there was "a lot" of dynamite in the home and noted it was "pretty impressive in scope."
"The information we received is the dynamite was passed down from generation to generation, so how old it is, we actually do not know," he said.
Shortly after midnight, authorities decided the best course of action was to detonate the dynamite and expanded the evacuation order to 1,500 feet from the house.
"The lone resident that is there currently, she is in a hotel at this time away from the structure itself, and they've made the necessary arrangements for her to come and get personal items that are important to her," Barker said.
The dynamite was detonated around 4 a.m., resulting in a pair of massive explosions that left the home uninhabitable.
By 6 a.m., the scene was cleared, and neighbors were allowed to return to their homes.