PORT ORCHARD — The remains of two people were found following a powerful explosion Tuesday morning that leveled a manufactured home in Port Orchard.
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s office said it has confirmed two fatalities at the blast, The Associated Press reported.
The homeowners who lost their lives have been identified as William and Maria McDonald, according to the Port Orchard Independent.
The explosion happened at about 4:10 a.m., prompting what Sheriff’s Office spokesman Scott Wilson told the Port Orchard newspaper was an outpouring of 9-1-1 calls.
“We must have gotten hundreds of calls — maybe up to 500,” he said, adding that calls came from places as far away as Silverdale and Bangor.
Parts of the triple-wide manufactured home were sent up to 80 feet into the air, the newspaper said, adding that roof trusses landed onto towering evergreen trees.
‘Popsicle sticks’
First responders arrived to find the home leveled and burning — “turned into Popsicle sticks,” Wilson said.
Authorities have all but ruled out homicide as a cause of the explosion at the triple-wide manufactured home, but they have not determined how it happened, Wilson said.
“At this point, we do not believe there is anything suspicious that leads us down the path of criminal activity,” he said.
As far as they know, no one in the neighboring homes was injured in the blast, although other buildings were damaged, including a nearby elementary school.
The extent of the damage elsewhere involved broken windows and doors, which he said was “truly remarkable” considering the strength of the blast that shook the neighborhood, Wilson said.
Previously, authorities said the two residents were unaccounted for.
South Kitsap Fire and Rescue said the explosion shook the neighborhood, damaged other homes and blew out windows at a nearby elementary school.
School officials were assessing the damage at Mullenix Ridge Elementary, which remained open Tuesday.
Sheriff detectives have requested the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms assist with the investigation.
