Dynamite Blast Mistaken for Quake
A dynamite blast at a quarry Sunday was picked up by Caltech sensors as a magnitude 2.9 earthquake, officials said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department had been notified in advance of the 5 p.m. explosion at Connolly Pacific’s quarry, but at least one alarmed resident of Santa Catalina Island called authorities, Sgt. Gary Olson said.
A spokesman for Caltech in Pasadena said seismologist Doug Given had pegged the concussion as a 2.9 quake, but a short time later the spokesman said the quarry blast could have caused the reading.
Olson, who described the blast as “a quick, sharp jolt,” said he couldn’t recall a previous explosion mistaken for an earthquake.
Connolly Pacific provides rock to such projects as the Long Beach breakwater.
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