Suspected illegal butane lab explodes in El Dorado County; 1 adult, 1 minor injured

On adult male and one juvenile were hospitalized after an explosion at a Camino, California home on January 1, 2018.

Initially, El Dorado County Fire responded to the 3:25 p.m. call of an explosion in a home in the 5100 block of Pony Express Trail. They then asked for El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office to respond to the scene for a possible butane extraction lab explosion.

Joshua Jamison, 39, was at the home when the explosion occurred and suffered burns to his face. He was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released.

A juvenile, age unknown, was also transported to the hospital for possible smoke inhalation and was later released. Two other juveniles were found to be inside the home when the explosion occurred but they were uninjured.

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office detectives and an El Dorado County arson investigator began looking into the nature of the explosion and were quickly able to determine that it was the result of an illegal butane extraction lab that was being done in the bathroom of the home. The illegal lab was being used to produce concentrated cannabis.

The explosion caused extensive structural damage to the home with interior walls cracked or moved, and multiple exterior walls pushed off of the foundation. El Dorado County Code Enforcement was called deemed the home unsafe to occupy.

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office detectives conducted interviews of the residents of the home and a search warrant was served at the location. Numerous items of evidence in support of a butane extraction lab were collected per the search warrant. This is an ongoing investigation with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, El Dorado County Fire, CPS and Code Enforcement.

The case is to be forwarded to the El Dorado County District Attorney for review and no arrests have been made at this point.