Exterior shot of garage where the explosion occurred
Goin’ in
SANTA CRUZ — One person is in a Bay Area medical center burn unit after an explosion and fire that rocked an apartment complex on the 100 block of Lindburg Street in Santa Cruz on Wednesday night.
Police and fire personnel investigated the fire and found that the explosion had been caused by butane during the process to extract concentrated cannabis.
Police and fire personnel responded to the apartment complex at around 8 PM afte reports of an explosion and fire. Once on the scene, they found that the third floor of the apartment had been significantly damaged to the point of officers having to evacuate several people from the apartments nearby.
Santa Cruz firefighters discovered that the explosion was the result of a honey oil extraction process gone awry in the garage.
Officers were able to locate the suspect at the upstairs apartment, where he was found with his wife and child. The two of them were in the apartment when the explosion occurred but were not injured.
The suspect, on the other hand, had sustained several burns.
Investigators searched the garage and residence and located several items used for the manufacturing of concentrated cannabis, more commonly referred to as “honey oil.” Honey oil labs are becoming a major safety concern in the Santa Cruz communities due to the use of highly-flammable butane gas during the extraction process.
The city of Santa Cruz is experiencing many such explosions and worry that the community is being put at substantial risk.
