60 storage bins of fireworks found at SoCal home that exploded, left 2 dead

LOS ANGELES — Five dozen large storage bins filled with fireworks were recovered at the Ontario, Calif., home where a massive explosion rocked the neighborhood and left two dead Tuesday afternoon, city officials said.

About 60 containers, each holding the equivalent of 27 gallons, were found crammed with unexploded fireworks during cleanup Wednesday at the property, Ontario spokesman Dan Bell said.

Twenty-four bomb technicians from Riverside and Orange counties, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and FBI have been combing through the site since the initial denotation shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday.

“They are burning the materials to make it safe,” Bell said, adding that they have yet to tackle anything inside the buildings.

Some of the stash was detonated Wednesday, sending up more smoke and echoing loud booms into the neighborhood. More fireworks and explosives were expected to be set off Thursday as the area continues to be cleared, Ontario Police Officer Bill Lee said.

Bell said the pyrotechnics are not the kind used in commercial displays, as was initially thought, but are still big and powerful. Sources familiar with the investigation suspect they are the type sold in underground markets.

Cesar Paez-Vasquez, 20, and Alex Paez, 38, are believed to have died in the explosion, according to preliminary identifications by the Ontario Police Department.

Both men, who have been missing since Tuesday, are connected to the family who lives at the property, authorities said.