Residents of Missoula's north side were startled by a very loud explosion in the Allied Waste Company landfill just before 10 o'clock Saturday morning.

Missoula County Sheriff's department spokesman Jason Johnson said some workers at the landfill spotted a large amount of dynamite that someone had improperly disposed of on Friday night. The workers contacted 9-1-1 and the Sheriff's Department sent their Emergency Ordinance Disposal Team (EOD) to the site.

The team determined that the landfill would be the safest place to detonate the explosives, rather than attempting to move it to their usual disposal location out by the airport.

Johnson said the team cleared the area and detonated the dynamite at about 9:50 on Saturday morning, and the blast was heard and felt all over the north and west sides of Missoula.

Johnson said no one was injured, and that it would be next to  impossible to trace the dynamite to its original owner, so he took the occasion to ask the public if they spot dynamite anywhere it shouldn't be...to not touch it, but contact 9-1-1 immediately for proper and safe disposal.

Missoula County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jason Johnson

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