Puyallup Neighborhood Evacuated For Bomb Squad Detonation

PUYALLUP, WA — A small portion of Puyallup was evacuated Monday afternoon so that first responders could detonate an unexploded charge of dynamite.

As of 5:30 p.m., roads have been reopened and the evacuation lifted.

According to the Puyallup Police Department, officers first a 911 call about "railroad torpedo explosives" in a home in the 700 block of W. Pioneer at around 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Upon investigating, officers determined that the explosive in question was a small, but active, dynamite charge wrapped in paper, and strapped to a section of rail. The charge is designed so that, when a train's wheel rolls over the charge, the packet is detonated, warning the engineer. The package had reportedly been tucked away in the home for years, but the homeowner called for help removing it from the property.

Instead, the bomb squad was called in to detonate and destroy the explosive. While they worked, a one block radius between West Main, 7th St SW, 8th St SW and West Pioneer was blocked off and evacuated. Residents who lived within a one and a half mile radius of the home should also have received a reverse 911 phone call, warning them of a loud noise.