Imitation Dynamite Evacuates 2 Tarzana Blocks

Two blocks in Tarzana were evacuated early Saturday after authorities summoned to a house by a malfunctioning burglar and fire alarm discovered what appeared to be a bomb resting on an inside window sill.

Los Angeles police and firefighters started knocking on doors about 7 a.m. in the 5900 blocks of Calvin and Tampa avenues to tell residents they had to leave their homes while a bomb squad dismantled what resembled several sticks of dynamite wired to a timer.

But the specialists soon recognized the device as a fake, said Sgt. Jim Watters of the police West Valley Division. “It is a darn good replica,” Watters said, adding that it was possibly a movie prop or novelty shop item.

Residents seemed unfazed at the morning’s inconvenience.

“It was the most excitement we’ve had around here in 40 years,” said Marie Jennings, who said she has lived on Calvin Avenue since 1943. “I wasn’t worried but I certainly couldn’t believe it was happening.”

“It was a good chance to get to know the neighbors,” said Ray Lopez, who was awakened by police knocking at his door. “They told us we had to go 700 feet away, so I spent some of the morning at the end of the street sipping coffee with everyone else.”

Residents described the neighbor with the fake bomb, Peter Morse, as something of a mystery. They said he is rarely home, works in show business or films and sometimes comes and goes in a long black limousine, a novelty in the neighborhood of modest homes.

Police left a note in Morse’s mailbox asking him to refrain from placing the device on the windowsill, Watters said. “There’s nothing illegal about, it but it can cause problems,” he said.

Morse was not home at the time of the evacuation, police said. Contacted later, he said he was unaware of the incident.