BAKERSFIELD - The PG&E plant implosion went off as scheduled Saturday, but not as planned. Debris from the blast hit spectators, injured onlookers and damaged cars.
State investigators said they are looking into what went wrong, and a demolition expert said the safety zone around the plant wasn't large enough.
The implosion sent shrapnel flying through the air into a crowd of spectators. "It's a real tragedy and it shouldn't have happened," said Herb Duane, International Demolition Consultant.
Herb Duane has overseen hundreds of projects over the last 50 years. "The safety zone wasn't big enough," he explained.
A 1,000 foot safety zone was set up for the implosion. "The safe zone should have been somewhere between 1,500 to 2,000 feet because with steel, steel goes farther, and have more projectiles going up then when you're imploding a concrete building," he said.
When a large structure made up of steel implodes, the nuts and bolts pop off like bullets. Jerry Wood, 43, was seriously injured in the Lowe's parking lot. He was standing about 1,050 feet from the blast.
"But also, you have to investigate how was the building prepared. I don't know if they put too much dynamite in the building or if they did enough preparation," said Duane.
"The plan was to bring the buildings down and they're down, but I don't think anyone would call that as planned," said Denny Boyles, PG&E spokesperson.
Cal/OSHA is investigating to determine if there were any violations of state and health regulations. "Alpha Explosives out of Lincoln, California was hired to handle the demolition of these two 45 foot boiler towers," said Erika Monterroza, Cal/OSHA Spokesperson.
"It will include an interview with the employer, Alpha Explosives, as well as employees at the company," she continued.
17 News called Alpha Explosives. The woman who answered the phone said no one was available for comment. According to Cal/OSHA, the company had no violations in the past five years.
Cal/OSHA has six months to complete its investigation. Monterroza said it will likely take three to four months.