Explosives stolen in California

Heightening concern over possible millennium terrorism, officials of
the Fresno Police Department admit they are worried about the theft of
about 200 pounds of explosives from a department bomb squad bunker.

The explosives, which consist of 125 pounds of dynamite and
military-grade C4, as well as 75 pounds of gunpowder, were stolen
sometime between Saturday and Monday from a concrete bunker 20 miles
northeast of Fresno.

"We have a great concern, and we're not going to hide that concern,"
said Fresno Police Chief Ed Winchester. His department is in charge of
the bunker because the agency's bomb squad serves a number of other
municipalities, including Madera, Mariposa and Kings counties.

The theft has prompted fears of Y2K-related terrorism or other
violence, as law enforcement officials from around the country prepare
for millennium celebrations. The arrest of alleged terrorist suspects
in Washington state and Vermont last week, coupled with numerous federal
law enforcement bulletins and warnings about possible terrorist attacks,
have caused officials to increase visibility and manpower for the next
week or so at least.

However, the Fresno Police Department attempted to downplay the
danger of the particular materials taken. "If you're an engineer, you
can take down a high-rise with that. But if you put it all in a box and
set it next to a wall, it wouldn't do much other than to destroy some of
that wall," said police Lt. Andy Hall.

Officials conceded that the theft may have been a "childish prank"
because blasting caps needed for the explosives were not taken.

Nevertheless, the timing of the theft is ominous.

"We're looking at increasing security for New Year's, and we're
reassessing our deployment in light of this," Winchester said. "We are
taking a look at potential targets within our city." Fresno Mayor Jim
Patterson added that the city's millennium celebrations would not be
canceled.

The department said no suspects had been identified by late Tuesday
evening. The Fresno County Sheriff's Department, Fresno Police
Department, Clovis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms are all investigating the theft.

The bunker itself is nearly embedded in a hill and measures about 8
feet wide, 12 feet long, and 10 feet high. It was built with reinforced
concrete, and is prefaced with a heavy steel door and several locks. It
is also isolated by a locked gate and chain link fence topped with
barbed wire. A spokesman said the bomb squad uses the explosives to
destroy ammunition, bombs and other explosives confiscated by local law
enforcement.

In a related Nov. 14 incident, 100 pounds of stick dynamite were
stolen from a lumber company's storage facility in Standard, Calif.,
said Tuolumne County Sheriff's Sgt. Allen Dahl. No arrests have been
made.