Thread: "Bomb Factory" House Solution, BURN IT DOWN

'Bomb factory' house to be destroyed

The house will be burned to dispose of hazardous materials and chemicals

By Kristina Davis and J. Harry Jones
Originally published November 30, 2010 at 10:35 a.m., updated November 30, 2010 at 7:58 p.m.

ESCONDIDO — A house in unincorporated Escondido where pounds of volatile homemade explosives and hazardous chemicals have been found will be burned down, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said Tuesday night at a community meetings.

"There is no viable method to render the property safe," Gore said. "It is also not habitable. The most effective way is to destroy the residence by fire."

The county took action Tuesday to declare a public emergency which will allow for the destruction of the house, Gore said at the meeting, which was attended by about 300 people and held in San Marcos.

"Where there is a threat to the public health and safety, the government can take these kind of actions," said Rod Lorang, senior deputy county counsel.

Officials said the house is so cluttered and so filled with dangerous materials that there is no way to safely remove everything. Photographs of explosive powder sitting in clumps on the floor were shown during the meeting, which is still ongoing.

No date for the operation was yet set. Authorities said it won't happen at least for several days because precautionary measures need to be taken, including the building of protective barriers .

Dozens of homes in the neighborhood will be evacuated during the fire and dozens of other residents will be asked to "shelter in place," hopefully only for a few hours, San Marcos Fire Chief Todd Newman said at the meeting.

The house is west of Interstate 15, and the freeway will be shut down for several hours during the operation. The evacautions and shelter in-place zones will be on both sides of the freeway.

"We have a high confidence level these chemicals will be neutralized very fast, but we will evacuate out of an abundance of caution," Newman said. If you are asked to evacuate, "Please do so," he said.

Some area residents attending the meeting expressed concern about what might be in the house that authorities don't know. "There could be a dirty bomb," one shouted.

Another attendee, a woman who declined to give her name, said, "You don't know what might be there. This is our neighborhood. These our our homes. It sounds like you guys don't know what you're doing, that you're just grasping at straws."

Authorities tried to allay their fears. Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer, said that there are no radioactive materials in the house. "We don't have a dirty bomb in there," she said.

"We were very cautious about looking at how this would be done.....this is not something we normally do," fire chief Newman said. "These chemicals will be neutralized very fast," he said.

Newman said there is a chance that some debris might reach two nearby homes, but officials believe the powders will quickly be consumed by the 1,800-degree fire without significantly exploding.

Meeting details
Local and federal law enforcement agencies are hosting a town hall meeting about cleanup plans for the house at 1954 Via Scott in unincorporated Escondido.

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Woodland Park Middle School, 1270 Rock Springs Road, San Marcos

Kellen Knipp, who lives next to the house on Via Scott where the hazardous materials were found, said he and his mother were told earlier by authorities to prepare for the worst. They have been evacuated from their home, along with the residents of another home on the street, since Nov. 18, when a gardener suffered serious injuries after chemicals exploded in the backyard of a house rented by George Djura Jakubec, 54.

Knipp said he and his mother were earlier instructed by authorities to move everything out of their home, including furniture, today in case something goes wrong during the operation to render Jakubec’s house safe.

“We have to go today. We have to show up with a moving truck,â€

Bomb factory' house to be destroyed

The house will be burned to dispose of hazardous materials and chemicals

By Kristina Davis, J. Harry Jones and Susan Shroder
Originally published November 30, 2010 at 10:35 a.m., updated December 1, 2010 at 7:00 a.m.

Download: Proclamation of Local Emergency

Download: Search warrant and affidavit for the home of George Djura Jakubec

More information: Visit the San Diego County Emergency page

ESCONDIDO — A house in unincorporated Escondido where pounds of volatile homemade explosives and hazardous chemicals have been found will be burned down, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said Tuesday night at a community meeting.

"There is no viable method to render the property safe," Gore said. "It is also not habitable. The most effective way is to destroy the residence by fire."

The county took action Tuesday to declare a public emergency which will allow for the destruction of the house, Gore said at the meeting, which was attended by about 300 people and held in San Marcos.

"Where there is a threat to the public health and safety, the government can take these kind of actions," said Rod Lorang, senior deputy county counsel.

Officials said the house is so cluttered and so filled with dangerous materials that there is no way to safely remove everything. Photographs of explosive powder sitting in clumps on the floor were shown during the meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes.

Gore said weather permitting, the operation would tentatively take place between Dec. 8 and 10, weather permitting. Precautionary measures need to be taken first, including building protective barriers around the site.

Dozens of homes in the neighborhood will be evacuated during the fire and dozens of other residents will be asked to "shelter in place," hopefully for just a few hours, San Marcos Fire Chief Todd Newman said at the meeting.

The house is west of Interstate 15, and the freeway will be shut down for several hours during the operation. The evacuations and shelter in-place zones will be on both sides of the freeway.

Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer, said that sheltering in place will mean staying inside with all windows and doors closed. Heaters and air conditioners should be turned off and external vents should be shut.

Newman said that ideally the burn would start around 9:30 a.m. following the morning commute. Winds must be calm and blowing from west to east, he said.

"As soon as we get a clear weather pattern, we're going to go," he said.

Some area residents attending the meeting expressed concern about what might be in the house that authorities don't know. "There could be a dirty bomb," one shouted.

But Wooten said that there are no radioactive materials in the house. "We don't have a dirty bomb in there," she said.

Another attendee, a woman who declined to give her name, said, "You don't know what might be there. This is our neighborhood. These our our homes. It sounds like you guys don't know what you're doing, that you're just grasping at straws."

One man, Robin Martin, walked out of the meeting. "You people have no clue!" he yelled. Later he said he doesn't trust officials and worries that they may blow up the entire neighbohhood or release toxins into the air.

But authorities tried to allay their fears.

"We were very cautious about looking at how this would be done.....this is not something we normally do," Newman said. "These chemicals will be neutralized very fast," he said.

Newman said there is a chance that some debris might reach two nearby homes, but officials believe the powders will quickly be consumed by the 1,800-degree fire without significantly exploding.

"We expect it to burn. we don't expect it to detonate," said sheriff's bomb squad Sgt. Ver Dayrit.

Kellen Knipp, who lives next to the house on Via Scott where the hazardous materials were found, said he and his mother were told earlier by authorities to prepare for the worst. They have been evacuated from their home, along with the residents of another home on the street, since Nov. 18, when a gardener suffered serious injuries after chemicals exploded in the backyard of a house rented by George Djura Jakubec, 54.

Knipp said he and his mother were earlier instructed by authorities to move everything out of their home, including furniture, today in case something goes wrong during the operation to render Jakubec’s house safe.

“We have to go today. We have to show up with a moving truck,â€

Schwarzenegger declares state of emergency over San Diego County bomb house

December 2, 2010 | 7:04 am

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a state of emergency declaration that gives San Diego County additional legal authority to seize and destroy an Escondido-area home that authorities described as a bomb-making factory.

Meanwhile, a 54-year-old man accused in the case has told authorities that he robbed three banks in San Diego, according to a search warrant affidavit released Wednesday.

George Djura Jakubec, a Serbian emigre and naturalized U.S. citizen, told San Diego County sheriff's deputies during a jailhouse interview that he had robbed Bank of America branches on Nov. 13, 2009; June 25, 2010; and July 17, 2010.

Jakubec is charged with the June and July bank robberies, along with 26 bombmaking charges. He has pleaded not guilty in San Diego County Superior Court and is due back in court Friday.

The affidavit provides no information on Jakubec's motive for his alleged stockpiling of chemicals and other materials needed to build explosives. None of the charges involved the sale or use of explosives.

County officials announced Tuesday night that they plan to burn down the house at Via Scott just outside the Escondido city limits that Jakubec was renting. A controlled burn is the only safe way to destroy the explosives, Sheriff Bill Gore told several hundred attendees at a town-hall style meeting this week.

The fire is set for next week, but could be delayed due to weather conditions.

After the June 25 robbery, witnesses told the FBI that the robber placed the money inside a green ammunition box. The robber was described as about 60 years old, between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10, and 160 to 175 pounds.

Jakubec, an unemployed software consultant who was on probation on a burglary conviction, remains in jail on $5-million bond. His estranged wife has said he is mentally unstable.

Along with the bombmaking materials, authorities found handguns, masks and wigs in the house. Computers, written documents and surveillance cameras were also seized; authorities hope they may provide a clue to Jakubec's motives.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... house.html