Residents of a North Hollywood neighborhood were evacuated from their homes early Tuesday morning after a powerful explosion occurred in a parked pickup truck.
Windows of houses nearby were blown out from the blast, which detonated at around 12:30 a.m. in the backyard of a house on the 11000 block of Miranda Street. Los Angeles police Sgt. Mike Kammert told the Los Angeles Times that police and firefighters found the truck with its roof blown off and at least one propane tank inside the vehicle. Officials backed off from the scene until bomb squad and special investigators arrived to assess the situation at about 6 a.m. Authorities believe there are more propane tanks inside the car, ABC's local station KABC reported.
Kammert stated that officials were almost certain the propane tanks caused the explosion.
"It was a pretty good boom," Kammert told the LA Times.
Residents living within 100 yards of the blast were asked to evacuate as a precautionary measure. About 30 people left their homes - some of them had no choice but to sleep in their cars.
"It'll probably be another hour or so," Kammert said at the time, while officials closed off a one-block radius around the home. "The bomb squad doesn't move fast, which is probably a good thing."
Investigators are still unsure whether the explosion was a criminal act or an accident. The home where the pickup was parked sustained some slight damage as a result of the explosion. Police were also checking out the owner of the home and truck, but had not yet gotten in contact as of Tuesday morning.
© 2025 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
