Bomb Found At Peoria Ethanol Plant Triggers One-Mile Evacuation

Authorities in Peoria, Illinois, ordered residents within a one-mile radius of the BioUrja Renewables ethanol plant to remain evacuated Saturday after a bomb discovered near the facility was rendered safe but deemed part of a still-credible threat.^[1]

Police said the device was found Friday afternoon near the industrial complex, prompting bomb technicians to respond and a large emergency perimeter to be set up around the plant, which stores large quantities of ethanol and other highly combustible chemicals.^[2] Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon told reporters just after midnight Saturday that the device had been "rendered safe," but stressed that officials had to "take the blast radius seriously" while they continued to search the facility and surrounding area.^[1]

As of Saturday morning, residents living within one mile of the BioUrja plant were still under an evacuation notice, with emergency shelters opened for displaced families and no injuries reported from either the device or the evacuation itself.^[1] Mayor Rita Ali said city leaders were alarmed not only by the bomb but by the risk it posed in close proximity to stores of ethanol and "highly combustible types of chemicals" at the facility.^[1]

The FBI has joined the investigation, with Special Agent Ryan Pressley confirming that federal agents are now working alongside local authorities to determine who planted the device and whether others might exist at or near the plant.^[1] Pressley said agents would work "tirelessly to identify the individual responsible and bring them to justice," and officials emphasized that no arrests had been made and they were not yet prepared to discuss a potential motive.^[1]

The response began Friday when personnel at or near the BioUrja Renewables site reported a suspicious device in an area by the ethanol plant, triggering a multi-agency reaction that quickly expanded into a wide evacuation zone.^[2] Bomb technicians ultimately declared the device safe after neutralizing it, but Dixon said the discovery was treated as a "credible threat" from the outset, given the potential for catastrophic fire or explosion if an effective device had detonated near the flammable materials stored on site.^[1]

City officials have urged patience from residents pushed out of their homes, saying the evacuation will stay in place until investigators finish sweeping the plant and are confident there is no further danger to surrounding neighborhoods.^[1] In the meantime, emergency crews, local charities and public agencies are staffing shelters and providing food and support for evacuees while the industrial complex and nearby streets remain an active security and evidence-collection scene.^[2]

1. NPR
2. CBS News