Explosives at House Prompt Evacuations

An Oceanside neighborhood was temporarily evacuated Tuesday afternoon after firemen fighting a garage fire came across what officials think is a homemade methamphetamine lab.

Gina Nix, an Oceanside police spokeswoman, said firefighters were dousing a small fire in a corner of a garage in the 1800 block of South Nevada Street about 2 p.m. when they noticed a gun, chemicals and some material believed used to illegally produce methamphetamines.

Police were called, and they found that the windows and doors to the garage and house were connected by wires. Suspecting that the residence was booby-trapped, the officers sought assistance from the San Diego County Sheriff’s bomb squad and the San Diego County Integrated Narcotic Task Force, Nix said.

Although it was later determined that the home was not wired to explode, the authorities did find several explosive materials inside. As a precaution, several homes were evacuated until the materials could be removed.

Nix said no one was found in the residence, and no arrests had been made Tuesday night.