Explosion in Panaca

Panaca, Nevada goes back to 1864 when it was Panaca, Utah, a couple years before Nevada’s boundary was moved another degree east to the 114th Meridian. It was an agricultural community supplying mining camps. “Tranquil and religious, Panaca never had an easy relationship with its rambunctious neighbors, but it has outlasted nearly all of them.” Today with a population of 900, it is the only dry town in Nevada. There is a Panaca Nevada Stake of the LDS church, a Panaca 1st Ward, and a Panaca 2nd Ward. The last time I was there was two nights before the 2012 eclipse. The next morning I visited graves in Enterprise, 50 miles east of Panaca.

A weird crime occurred there Wednesday evening. Someone blew up his old boss’s house and killed himself in the process. Details are available from the Lincoln County Record. In describing the blast that sent debris flying a mile, Richard Katschke is quoted saying “In Panaca, we’re used to sonic booms, dynamite on the 24th. This was magnitudes greater than that.”

Dynamite on the 24th! Why aren’t we all flocking to Panaca for some of its rousing, robust Zion culture?

And for more evidence of Zion in Panaca: “Medical center administrator Jason Bleak said the staff at his small hospital, the only one in Lincoln County, braced for a hectic night after getting news of Wednesday’s explosions, but they never had to treat anyone.” (link)