ALASKA MAN SETS OFF DYNAMITE FOR 4TH OF JULY

Sitka police are investigating a large Fourth of July dynamite blast at a local quarry. An employee of the Granite Creek Rock Quarry, authorized to set explosives, reportedly detonated dynamite and blasting caps around 5:30 p.m. last Monday. The employee had invited about a half-dozen people to watch the blast. Several houses are in the vicinity of the quarry, and one homeowner who lives within a mile of the blast site said his foundation sustained damage. In addition, an unrelated magnitude 3.6 earthquake was felt in Sitka about two hours later Monday evening. Locals speculated that the blast had caused the quake.
* Just before the blast, the guy who set it off said, “Here – hold my mukluk.”
* I believe in going big but this is ridiculous.
* This sure beats the sparklers we had at my house.
* They’re thinking of punishing the man by creating yet another Alaska reality show.
* On the bright side, the quarry is now a year ahead of schedule in excavation.
* The blast caused an earthquake 2 hours later? I’m not a geologist but that sounds like a reach.
* How would you like to be an Alaskan moose peacefully nibbling on some twigs when this happened?
* This could cause the caribou to migrate early.
* Setting off dynamite for the 4th? I’ve got to admit: it does sound like a blast.