CAMP MINDEN EXPLOSION SENDS HUNDREDS FLEEING

The students will be out of class on Friday, due to Thursdays explosions at Camp Minden. Students from Doyline High School and Union Elementary will be out of class on Friday, August 25th. The schools are not damaged, but officials ordered this precautionary measure because of the fear of more explosions. The series of explosions began about 8:30 Thursday and continued throughout the morning. The blasts tore apart part of the X-Plo company which is in the business of disarming bombs. Reportedly, a tractor trailer load of 750 pound bombs was parked next to the facility. Doyline High and Union Elementary students were evacuated to the Lakeside High School gym, south of Sibley. About 800 residents of the town of Doyline and McEntire were also evacuated as a precaution, as officials feared further explosions could endanger the two towns. Inmates from the Bayou Dorcheat and Webster Parish Jails, both within 2 miles of Camp Minden, were taken to the Bossier Parish Jail in Plain Dealing and the David Wade Correctional Facility in Homer. Tonight, the Red Cross will be helping people who cant return home shelter at the Antioch Baptist Church in Minden. A number of roads remain closed because of the danger: I-20 Eastbound, from Dixie Inn to Goodwill Exit, parts of US Hwy 80 and parts of Louisiana 163. National Guard staff from Ft. Humbug, who are part of the 1-156th Louisiana National Guard, went to Camp Minden to assist. There are no plans to mobilize any other troops at this time. X-Plo Systems, Inc employs as many as 60 people. It opened in January at Camp Minden with a military contract to disassemble bombs and recycle bomb components. A number of explosions have rocked Camp Minden over the past few months. On July 15th, there was a small blast at the Goex Black Powder facility and on August 14th, explosions at Valentec Systems, which makes military flares, ended with two firefighters suffering from heat exhaustion