South Lake Tahoe home destroyed in honey oil lab explosion

The Larch Avenue neighborhood's quite Tuesday evening was disrupted by what was described as a violent explosion caused by an illegal honey oil lab.

"My mother's floor rose and fell," said neighbor Daniel Castillo. His mother and sister live in the apartment above where the explosion occurred. Their apartment has a large crack above the front door. "My nephew was standing outside when it happened," Castillo continued. "He said the windows of the apartment came out like a balloon being blown up."

Castillo's nephew had a couple of slight cuts below his eye caused by the flying glass. He was treated by the paramedics on the scene.

There are still glass shards in the courtyard of the apartment building, evidence of how forceful the explosion was. Castillo said glass made it into the parking lot.

After the explosion, South Lake Tahoe Police officers called in the South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team (SLEDNET).

"SLEDNET came in and executed a search warrant," said SLEDNET Task Force Commander Tasha Thompson. "We saw what was consistent with an illegal honey oil lab."

"Looked to be a violent explosion," Thompson said.

The two residents of the apartment where the suspected honey oil operation was ran away after the explosion. No names have been released since the pair hasn't been found as of yet and the case is under investigation by the South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team (SLEDNET).