Detached garage explodes, sending man flying 20 feet

OREGON CITY, Ore. - One person was burned in an explosion that rocked a neighborhood Friday evening.

It all happened around 5 p.m. along Beutel Road in rural Oregon City.

Neighbors say they heard a loud explosion followed by what sounded like ammunition blasts. They said the explosion was "very intense" and it was like a sonic boom. One neighbor said he thought a plane had crashed into the home.

According to Clackamas Fire District No. 1, when firefighters arrived they found a detached two-door garage behind a home that had been completely opened up in the blast and was on fire.

A 40-year-old man who was inside the structure when it blew ended up 20 feet away. Fire officials say he had second- and third-degree burns on 15 percent of his body. He was taken to the hospital where he was in serious condition Saturday morning.

The man had been living in the detached garage behind his parent's home.

The man's brother-in-law said he had black powder for loud cannons that he would sometimes set off in open areas.

A Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad did evacuate some of the nearby residents while they checked to see if there was any further danger.  Early reports indicate there was some gun powder and ammunition found at the scene and arriving Clackamas County Sheriff's deputies heard what they thought was the sound of ammunition exploding in the fire.

Residents nearby were evacuated as a precaution.

The cause of the explosion is unknown but fire investigators are looking into what happened.