Blasting Caps, Explosive Device Found at 2 Antelope Valley Sites

Sunday was a busy day for the sheriff’s arson / explosives unit in the Antelope Valley. In Palmdale, dozens of blasting caps were discovered in the trunk of an abandoned car and in nearby Quartz Hill, a small explosive device was found inside a residence, authorities said.

More than 50 blasting caps--small explosive charges used to initiate larger explosions--were discovered at 11:45 a.m. by a resident of the 37800 block of 45th Street East, said Deputy Benita Nichol, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities said they are not sure where the blasting caps came from or how they got into the car. “It’s still under investigation,” Nichol said.

The person who found the blasting caps had recently taken possession of the car.

Discovery of the explosive devices--each measuring about four inches long and a quarter-inch--led to the temporary evacuation of three houses on the street.

Members of the arson / explosives detail were able to render the devices harmless, said Nichol, although she declined to say how this was done.

While still there, members of the unit were called to the Quartz Hill home to deal with what the homeowner had described as a pipe bomb. Nichol said the device, which she described as homemade, was found in the 6200 block of West Avenue L-6 and measured 10 by 1 1/2 inches.

She said it was also “rendered safe.”

It had not been determined Sunday evening who left the device in the home, but the residents are not suspects, Nichol said.