KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Update (10/11 at 10:15 p.m.): The Knoxville Police Department said residents near Lonsdale could go home after bomb squad technicians cleared the contents of a box that had been filled with dynamite. However, it said Western Avenue would remain closed between Tennessee Avenue and Texas Avenue.
On Thursday, the police department said workers at a steel recycling facility found a steel box filled with what they believed was dynamite. Testing later confirmed it contained chemicals consistent with dynamite, and the police department said during a press conference that it had been packed with blast caps — against ATF regulation.
KPD said the explosives were removed and was confident they were completely disposed of. A spokesperson said bomb technicians from the Nashville area and from the Knox County Sheriff's Office helped with the response.
"Safety was the first priority, and we were able to clean this up as quickly and safely as possible," said Scott Erland, a spokesperson for KPD. "Thankfully, while it was still daylight, we were able to clear the contents of the box."
He said the burn process was still ongoing to dispose of the dynamite, but police were confident it was safe to return to the neighborhood.
KPD said the situation was "tense" after technicians discovered blast caps packaged with the dynamite, which are used to create the spark needed to detonate the explosives. Originally, crews were going to use robots to carry and remove individual sticks from the box, but they had to change that plan in order to safely separate the blast caps from the explosives.
The smoldering and smoke reported earlier Thursday during the response was from a part of the box burning, KPD said. The metal box had wood inside of it that began to burn when recycling workers were cutting into it with a torch.
KPD said crews couldn't do anything about the smoldering because any action taken against the fire could have set off an explosion before they knew what kind of explosives were in the box. The fire burnt out on its own.
KPD said teams were making "good progress" Friday evening to safely destroy the dynamite sticks. By 10:15 p.m., the police department said it was safe for people to return home.
The Knoxville Fire Department said the dynamite was commercial-grade and said the blast caps were absolutely not supposed to be stored in the same box as the explosives. KFD said the storage method violated ATF standards.
Crews are still not sure where exactly the box came from. They said the recycling facility is working to track down who it received the metal box from.
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Update (10/11 at 12:45 p.m.): The Knoxville Police Department said testing confirmed that the suspected explosives found inside a metal box at CMC Recycling on Thursday were numerous sticks of dynamite.
The situation prompted evacuations in a half-mile radius surrounding the recycling center in the Lonsdale area on Thursday afternoon. The evacuations will remain in place until the dynamite is disposed of, and dozens of people affected have sheltering at the Jacob Building.
WBIR 10News obtained the 911 call from the recycling center on Friday. The caller said someone was cutting the hinges off an unmarked metal box using a torch and saw some "odd smoke."
Inside the box the caller said they found what they believed to be roughly 200 sticks of dynamite inside. Workers moved to the corner of the lot because the box was still smoking near an oxygen tank. According to KPD, technicians were trying to figure out exactly how much dynamite was in the box as of Friday.
Police said during an update Friday at noon that the explosives tested positive for ammonium nitrate, which is a component of dynamite. KPD said the next step is to do another test the contents of the box to see how it will react to the disposal method.
KPD said the smoldering and smoke reported on Thursday was no longer an issue.
According to Scott Erland, a spokesperson with KPD, if the test goes as expected, they will use the traditional disposal method for dynamite, which is to douse it in diesel and light it on fire, stick by stick.
Crews aren't sure how old the dynamite so they are treating it with extreme caution and using a robot to conduct the work in case the sticks are unstable.
KPD said it's a "delicate, slow-moving" process due to the large amount of dynamite that will have to be individually disposed of.
KPD said the evacuation notice could extend into Saturday. Erland said disposal crews will likely need to pause when night falls for safety reasons.
"We understand the inconvenience,” Erland said.
Original Story (10/11 at 8:00 a.m.):
The Knoxville Police Department, Knoxville Fire Department and Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon provided more information on the explosive material that was found at CMC Recycling Thursday afternoon.
KPD's spokesperson Scott Erland said they believe that they "are working with suspected dynamite." He explained that CMC bought a box to be used for scrap. The recycling center usually purchases recycled steel and uses that material to turn it into new products.
Erland then said that the sealed box was "set on fire" after CMC went to cut it open with a torch, not knowing what was inside.
It is unknown how long the box has been on CMC's property, but KPD suspects it has been there for several days.
KFD's spokesperson Mark Wilbanks said they do not know how old the dynamite is or what shape it's in.
"We don't know what shape it's in, we believe it to be unstable and until we prove otherwise, we're going to treat it like it could explode," Wilbanks said. "That doesn't mean it will, just that's the precaution that we want to take."
Wilbanks also said that several businesses in the area are closed as a result of the evacuation. He said no hospitals, nursing homes, or schools are in danger.
Kincannon said 35 people spent the night at the Jacob Building for shelter. She also said the Red Cross was helping coordinate resources. She said the building would be open for the rest of the day until the area was deemed safe.
Kincannon also said an armored vehicle was sent to the surrounding neighborhoods to tell people, in English and Spanish, to evacuate in case no one received the message. The armored vehicle will continue to roam the area throughout the day, according to the mayor.
KPD said they do not plan to expand the evacuation zone. They also said that the timeline for the evacuation could change but it is still expected to last into Friday evening.
Officials reiterated that the box was not placed maliciously and that the people to stay out of the evacuation zone.
Authorities also said anyone who needs help evacuating could call the police department's non-emergency line at 865-215-4010.
This is a developing story and will be updated.