The Black Vault - Report: Salt Lake blast caused by bomb?

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Railroad spikes found at the scene of an explosion that knocked out power in Salt Lake City on the final day of the Winter Olympics were being examined Wednesday for possible indications of an explosive device.

The Salt Lake Tribune said Wednesday that the federal and Utah state law enforcement agents were investigating whether the spikes had been used as shrapnel to destroy a circuit breaker at a Utah Power substation.

Sunday's explosion occurred eight hours before the Olympics closing ceremony. It knocked out power to around 33,000 homes in the Salt Lake area and led to a fire at an oil refinery, although damage from the blaze was minimal.

Agents collected the steel spikes and other material from the scene and took them to a federal crime lab to be tested for explosives residue, the Tribune said.

"This is under investigation by the FBI and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms), and we don't want to say anything to compromise their investigation," said Utah Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen, who confirmed that security at substations had been increased during the Olympics.

The explosion and outage were the only reported incidents that hinted at terrorism during the games, which were staged under intensive security that was beefed up even further following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast. The impact was more an annoyance to the Olympics than a disruption as the closing ceremonies proceeded without incident, and flight operations continued at the nearby Salt Lake City International Airport.

The worst damage occurred at the Tesoro refinery in North Salt Lake. Some oil-soaked materials were carried into the refinery's catalytic converter and ignited as technicians restarted the unit once the power came back on. The resulting fire forced closure of part of Interstate 15 and caused minor damage to the converter, which is used to turn crude oil into gasoline.