Controlled explosions that were happening in a southwest Calgary industrial area on Wednesday will continue at a different location that police say will be safer and help speed up the process.
As the detonations move elsewhere, the evacuation order in place for the Manchester Industrial Area has been lifted Thursday.
The city’s Emergency Operations Centre was activated on Tuesday evening to manage the controlled disposal of the materials found in the Manchester Industrial Area, located at approximately 46 Avenue and 1 Street SW, after a business received a suspicious package around noon and called Calgary police.
Police say a package of picric acid intended for disposal was mislabelled and had been sitting for more than a week when it was discovered.
An area business received the package around noon and made a call to police, which dispatched the Calgary Police Service (CPS) Tactical Unit.
Investigators believe a local moving company was hired to dispose of several substances, but the package in question was mislabelled and the chemicals inside, identified as picric acid, became too unstable to move.
Picric acid becomes highly unstable and flammable when it is dried.
“As a result of this mislabelling, the substances sat for approximately 10 days,” says CPS Deputy Chief Cliff O’Brien, adding that the moving company opened the package on Tuesday.
Controlled detonations
Due to the elevated hazard of moving the chemicals, the Tactical Unit was forced to move forward with the detonations at the site to make it safe.
Loud bangs and bursts of smoke could be seen coming from a mound of dirt on Wednesday afternoon as crews conducted controlled detonations to dispose of the hazardous material.
Police initially said detonations would continue at the site through the evening and possibly into Thursday.
“These procedures may alarm some people, but they are very standard and are carried out with precision and minimum risk,” says CPS Deputy Chief Cliff O’Brien. “The public can expect loud bangs, potentially fire, and bursts of smoke, but this is all normal.”
In an update late Wednesday, police said the materials had been tested and they were able to safely relocate them to another site for further detonation.
“Following further analysis and the establishment of a safe transport method, the remaining hazardous materials will be relocated to expedite the detonation process and minimize impact to the public,” reads the update from CPS.
Worker finds mislabelled package
Adam O’Keefe is the president and CEO of Alberta Movers. He was the one who received the package and alerted police on Tuesday.
He told CityNews his hands shook when he was handed the box, which had a label on it that read, ‘explosive.’
“I had the law office adjacent to us call 911. The bomb squad came in, and this is how it turned out,” O’Keefe said. “It’s very dangerous stuff, and it was inadvertently put in our shipment.”
Police tell CityNews that investigators don’t believe the incident is terror-related, but a criminal investigation is underway.
“We’ll see if there is any criminal wrongdoing,” says O’Brien.
Road closures and transit delays
Police have set up an evacuation zone bounded by Macleod Trail in the west, 1 Street SE in the east, 50 Avenue in the south, and north to around 45 Avenue. Members of the public are asked to avoid the area.
“We recognize that this will cause significant disruptions in the area. At this point, it is unknown how long it will take to safely dispose of the materials, and we ask the public and local businesses for patience as we manage this situation,” police say.
As a result of the incident, Calgary Transit’s 81 bus is on a detour on Wednesday. Other bus routes that currently cross or travel Macleod Trail, between Glenmore Trail and downtown, may also be delayed or detoured.
The Red Line LRT will continue to operate through the area, but there will be intermittent delays throughout the day.
At this time, there is no safety concern for those outside of the evacuation zone. However, the area could be expanded if necessary as the incident continues.
The latest information on closures in the area can be found here.
No drone zone
Calgary police have also implemented a no-fly zone in the area.
The NOTAM covers an area of two nautical miles and has a 2,000 feet vertical restriction. It applies to all RPAs, drones, and unmanned aircrafts.
Police say the order will be in effect until further notice.
With files from Phoenix Phillips