2 killed after commercial-grade fireworks explode at California home

Commercial-grade fireworks being stored at a home in Ontario, California, exploded on Tuesday afternoon, with the massive blast sending smoke into the air that could be seen more than 30 miles away.

Two people were killed in the explosion, Ontario Fire Department Chief Ray Gayk said, and a horse was injured. The pyrotechnics that exploded were "commercial grade," Gayk said, "like you would normally see in the fireworks show." A fire broke out after the blast, destroying two homes on the property, and neighbors were evacuated. Along with local law enforcement, the FBI is investigating the incident.

Jennifer Nalbandian lives near the blast site, and told the Los Angeles Times there were multiple explosions. The first one felt like an earthquake, she said, and as Nalbandian opened her front door, there was a "boom" that "pushed me back, and the window shattered. I got hit with the after-blast."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.