Station Wagon Dynamite Storage Bunker Emergency

Trapper Creek, Alaska A property owner called the police for assistance in disposing of some old dynamite he had stored on his property. The dynamite, all 550 pounds of it, were being stored in an abandon station wagon that served as a make-shift storage bunker. Reportedly, the man purchased a surplus boxcar from a railroad company back in 1996 which contained the dynamite. The man moved the dynamite into the station wagon where it sat for nearly 15 years. Over that time, the dynamite crystallized and thus had become unstable making it extremely sensitive.

Alaska State Troopers initially evacuated a 400-yard radius around the station wagon before calling the EOD unit from Elmendorf Air Force Base for technical assistance. EOD responded and recommended a much larger safety exclusion zone, 6,600 feet or 5 square mile radius due to the explosive weight of the dynamite.

Because of the unstable condition of the dynamite, EOD opted to blow the explosives in place. State and local authorities rushed to get the proper signatures and permissions in place for the blast. State officials reportedly even briefed the Governor on the incident. Other agencies involved in the operation included the FBI and the state's Division of Forestry, which were called in case the blast touched off a forest fire.

After about 7 hours of planning, the disposal shot was initiated around 0200 in the morning. Property damage included the station wagon which was totally destroyed and windows blown out of a nearby home from the shockwave. No injuries were reported and evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes following the successful disposal operation.