Getting the Bomb House Ready to Burn

If the weather cooperates, a North County home filled with dangerous explosives could be destroyed next Wednesday.

The neighbors are, of course, very nervous, because despite all the precautions, there's no way to tell what will happen when the so-called bomb house is burned to the ground.

On Thursday, crews were clearing brush from around the home on Via Scott in unincorporated Escondido and erecting a protective wall -- 16-feet high and 75-feet long -- to protect a neighboring property.
   
Before the fire is ignited, the wall will be sprayed with a protective gel to help keep flames, heat and embers from reaching the home.
   
The environmental emergency surfaced nearly two weeks ago, when a stockpile of highly explosive chemicals was found in a rental home on Via Scott. The house is so cluttered that haz-mat crews can not safely search and empty it, so the home will be purposely burned to the ground.
   
Experts said they believe that the flames will safely vaporize any explosives still inside that house.

Fire crews are preparing for a safe and quick burn.

"Put some holes in the ceiling, open the windows to get the air draft and the flow going so they get as good and as hot a fire as possible, so it will consume these hazardous materials in the first 20 minutes or so," said Jan Caldwell of the San Diego Sheriff's Department.

The sheriff's department, which is supervising the burn project, said the weather must be clear and winds relatively still when they set fire to the bomb house.

"We're going to get the word out as soon as possible, asking, you know, for detours to surface streets, if you could stay off the freeway at all, please do," Caldwell said. "It will be to your benefit. And, hopefully, that will only be for an hour or two. That is our hope."

   
Escondido may have the right weather conditions next Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
 

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