WEST BOUNTIFUL, Utah — Evacuations have been lifted for a West Bountiful neighborhood after a man was arrested after decades-old dynamite was found stored near fuel at his home.
West Bountiful will evacuate the area near 1400 North 1100 West at 10 a.m., and public safety officials will be going door-to-door to contact residents who are impacted.
The evacuation lasted until 12:10 p.m.
Residents do not need to remove their belongings, but may want to bring medications or other immediate necessities. Shelter will be available at 1930 North 600 West in West Bountiful.
Utah Highway Patrol says they have also closed Legacy Parkway from 500 South to Parrish Lane due to the evacuations. Drivers are asked to avoid the area.
Dwayne Raymond Hughes, 80, was arrested Sunday and is facing charges of possessing an explosive, unlawful possession of fireworks, and reckless endangerment. He is being held without bail.
According to court documents, on Saturday, West Bountiful police were called to the home for a domestic violence incident. When police arrived, they learned that the incident was between Hughes and his son, who both resided in the home.
The son was arrested, and while he was being taken into custody, he told police that his father had explosives. Officers later gained consent from Hughes to search his property, during which they found a container with dynamite that was from the 1980s.
Near the explosives, police found a 2,500-gallon tank of diesel fuel.
Officials used the time from April 25 to the 27 to stabilize the explosives before their removal on Monday.
The West Bountiful Police Department added that emergency alerts to residents' emails and phones went out to a larger radius than expected. They are reviewing the alerts with the county emergency management to prevent future confusion.
