Thunder-like booms rattled Southeast Boise this week. Here's where the blasts came from
Thunder-like booms rippled through Southeast Boise this week, shaking homes, rattling windows and leaving dozens of nearby residents wondering, 'What was that?'
Some figured it was related to the work going on at Micron. The company is constructing a big new plant at its headquarters off South Federal Way, which it broke ground on in late 2022, and has been notorious for using explosives to occasionally blast bedrock at the site over the last few years.
But that wasn't the source of the booms heard around 5 p.m. nearly every day this week.
'It startled me so bad that I threw my drink up in the air,' one resident said Wednesday evening on Nextdoor, an app where neighbors can discuss local news. Residents of Warm Springs Mesa, Painted Ridge, Breckenridge and other subdivisions in the area reported hearing the blasts.
'Our whole house shook,' another user said.
So what was the culprit?
Idaho Power is building a new segment of a transmission line to connect Micron's new substation to the existing grid, according to Sven Berg, a spokesperson for the company. The project involves using implosives to connect wires on that segment, hence the loud booms heard by those who live nearby. The company has kept Micron and Painted Ridge, the closest subdivision, apprised of the work, he said.
Implosives are devices used in power line construction. They create strong connections between electrical conductors by using a sleeve containing a small explosive charge that, when detonated, implodes and permanently seals the conductors together, according to a video from Manitoba Hydro.
'It makes a more reliable and durable connection than traditional splicing,' Berg said by email.
Idaho Power did some implosive blasting at the site in fall 2023 and started up again in December. Most of the blasting has been on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, he said. This week, however, it was done Monday through Thursday.
The good news is that the blasting for the project is now complete.
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