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What was that? ABQ residents hear loud boom
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Sounds like they’re having a real blast over on Kirtland Air Force Base.
Albuquerque residents were rattled by a loud boom heard across the city on Thursday, which turned out to be a “controlled explosives test” conducted by Sandia National Laboratories.
The test was a part of the lab’s “national security missions,” Sandia said in a news release. The testing went from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and kicked up dust and black smoke visible over the base.
“I thought someone jumped on my roof! What the hell was it?!” an Albuquerque resident exclaimed on a Reddit thread about the then-unexplained boom.
People reported hearing the boom across town — from the Northeast Heights to the West Side.
The labs said any hazards from the testing were “controlled” and in compliance with environmental regulations and permits.
Sandia typically releases an alert ahead of time for tests that might be audible or visible off base, said spokesperson Luke Frank, but mistakenly failed to issue one ahead of this test.
The labs declined to provide more information on the blasts, citing “national security” concerns.
