Explosives Scare Empties Trailer Park in False Alarm
About 1,000 people were evacuated from a trailer park and surrounding areas after the park manager discovered bags that appeared to be filled with explosive material but were later determined to contain cement, authorities said Tuesday.
Kim Carpenter, the manager of Ace Trailer Park, in the 12600 block of South Woodruff Avenue, discovered 3 1/2 bags of material labeled “ammonia nitrate” and “explosive.” She found the bags stacked on a pallet next to a trailer as she walked through the park at 6 p.m. on Monday, Downey Fire Capt. Robert Rowe said.
Ammonium nitrate combined with fuel oil was used in the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people in 1995.
Carpenter called the Fire Department, which evacuated everyone within a half-mile radius of the park, officials said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s bomb squad, which was called in with hazardous materials teams from the Vernon and Santa Fe Springs fire departments, determined that the sacks were filled with cement.
Residents were allowed to return to their homes and trailers around 8:15 p.m., Rowe said.
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