6 Canisters of TNT Explode in Altadena

Sheriff’s deputies serving a narcotics-related search warrant at a house in Altadena found six small canisters of TNT, which blew up as a bomb squad tried to separate them by remote control, officials said Saturday.

No one was injured in the 11 p.m. Friday blast. Three people were questioned and released, and authorities were seeking a man believed to have kept the homemade bomb in the Mountain View Street home, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Kathryn Nielsen.

After finding the bomb in a bedroom closet, 40 people were evacuated from nine neighboring homes. The bomb was placed in the home’s front yard and surrounded with sand bags to help absorb any possible blast, Nielsen said.

The bomb squad was attempting to separate the six canisters of TNT by remote control when they exploded, Deputy Bill Wehner said. Windows were shattered in the area, he said, but sheriff’s deputies were unable to give details about damage.

“It was a good blast,” said Deputy Hal Grant, who said the explosion sent flames, debris and smoke about 50 feet skyward. “It felt like an earthquake.”

Deputies had gone to the home to serve a narcotics-related search-and-arrest warrant, he said. The man named in the warrant was not home at the time. He was not identified by sheriff’s deputies.