explosion on private Fairbanks firing range

by AkRay, Tuesday, February 05, 2013, 14:51 (4255 days ago)

FAIRBANKS — Law enforcement agencies have said no more about an explosion that shook a Chena Ridge neighborhood Saturday afternoon and left blackened trees next to a private shooting range.

The property on which the blast occurred is owned by Fairbanks dentist Craig O’Donoghue, according to borough records. The blast site on O’Donoghue’s property is adjacent to a private firing range visible from a neighborhood road.

Several residents, including those whose homes were damaged by the blast’s shockwave, said O’Donoghue’s firing range has been the source of gunfire and explosions in the past.

The blast site, visible from Chena Rose Court off of Gateway Drive, is on one of three adjoining parcels owned by O’Donoghue. A crater approximately 10 feet in diameter is visible. Nearby trees are blackened to a height of at least 10 feet.

Telephone calls to O’Donoghue’s home requesting comment were not answered. His office was not open Monday but a voicemail message was left for him.

O’Donoghue’s neighbor, Cody Crane of Hans Way, said his first thought after the explosion was that a jet airplane had crashed nearby.

“We were standing right here and we hit the deck,” he said.

He said his garage door was blown in about two inches, a gable vent was blown out and several soffits were blown out from the blast.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks recorded the explosion as a small earthquake at 4:10 p.m. Saturday. On a scale used to measure small local activity, it registered a 0.19 magnitude.

“We saw the sound wave much more than the seismic signal,” seismic analyst Sara Meyer said.

Federal and state law enforcement agencies, including Alaska State Troopers, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI, are investigating the blast.

Any of you experts care to speculate about what caused this blast and crater? The locals are perplexed.