ST. GEORGE — A worker cleaning part of a warehouse Thursday discovered “weeping” dynamite, prompting a call to the Washington County Bomb Squad and an evacuation of surrounding businesses.
The St. George Fire and Police departments were alerted to the presence of a suspected piece of dynamite at Quick Cut Concrete at 1303 S. 320 East around 2:50 p.m., St. George Fire Battalion Chief Robert Hooper said.
Once they arrived and confirmed the state of the dynamite, the bomb squad was called in.
“Our biggest concern was that the dynamite was cut in half and was ‘weeping,’” Hooper said.
Over time, a stick of dynamite can begin to “weep” or “sweat” nitroglycerin, which makes it more sensitive to shock, temperature and friction and prone to detonation.
Kelly West was cleaning off some shelves at Quick Cut Concrete when he found a box with the suspected dynamite inside, he told St. George News.
“We could tell it was sweating,” West said. “We’ve heard that if you see it sweating you need to be super careful.”
Travis Ivie, owner of Quick Concrete Cut, agreed and the fire department was called.
Neither Ivie nor West knew where the dynamite had come from.
The area was cordoned off by police as the bomb squad removed the dynamite and placed it in a blast-proof container for transport and eventual disposal, Hooper said.
No property was damaged, and no one was harmed during the incident.
Ivie said he was sorry that his neighbors were inconvenienced by the evacuation and subsequent dynamite removal.
St. George News reporter Andrew Pinckney contributed to this story.
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2019 file photo for illustrative purposes only of a Washington County Bomb Squad technician on 1302 S. 320 East in St. George, Utah, March 7, 2019 | Photo by Andrew Pinckney, St. George News
Members of the Washington County Bomb Squad stand by as a package of dynamite is removed from the area of 1300 South and 320 East in St. George, Utah, March 7, 2019 | Photo by Andrew Pinckney, St. George News
A Washington County Bomb Squad technician at the scene of the removal of dynamite found at a business at 1302 S. 320 East in St. George, Utah, March 7, 2019 | Photo by Andrew Pinckney, St. George News
A Washington County Bomb Squad technician controls a small crane moving a cooler containing pieces of highly volatile dynamite toward a blast-proof container located on the trailer behind the pickup truck, St. George, Utah, March 7, 2019 | Photo by Andrew Pinckney, St. George News
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