One person was hospitalized during a honey oil explosion in City Heights.
An apartment complex in City Heights was evacuated Friday morning after an explosion that was believed to be tied to hash oil, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
The explosion occurred before 8:30 a.m. in an apartment of the 18-unit complex on Marlborough Ave near Landis Street but could be heard at least a mile away, one resident told the SDFD.
Firefighters arrived to see one obviously-damaged apartment on the lower level with smoke coming out, but there was no fire to put out, SDFD Battalion Chief Kerry-Shannon Grieser said.
Inside the unit was one person who suffered burn injuries, the fire department said. The individual was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
"We're investigating right now. We want to see if this is a criminal activity," Grieser said. "It appears that it might be a honey oil operation, where they were cooking honey oil and that's why the explosion occurred."
About two dozen residents, pets and children needed to be evacuated from the building as a precaution, Grieser said. They would not be allowed back in until a structural engineer could ensure the stability of the building. The Red Cross was called to assist residents in the meantime.
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"It's really dangerous. These things, these operations are so volatile," Grieser said. "Even done in a lab with all the right conditions, extremely explosive; very bad idea to try to do it and especially to put yourself and 24 other occupants in danger with this operation."
A Metro Arson Strike Team was conducting the investigation into the incident. A Hazardous Materials team and the Narcotics Task Force were also called to the scene.
Hash oil is an extract created from a concentrated form of marijuana, which can be smoked, vaporized or infused into edibles.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
