Gas bottles on a burner caused Lehi apartment explosion, charges say

An explosion at the Lehi Tech Apartments forced the evacuation of 90 families on Oct. 22. A tenant was charged Thursday with aggravated arson.

An explosion at the Lehi Tech Apartments forced the evacuation of 90 families on Oct. 22. A tenant was charged Thursday with aggravated arson. (City of Lehi)


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LEHI — A Lehi woman is facing a criminal charge accusing her of causing an explosion at her apartment complex while suffering a mental health crisis.

Donghee Hee Kang, 57, was charged Thursday in 4th District Court with aggravated arson, a first-degree felony.

On Oct. 22, Kang "put gas bottles onto a cooking pot that had been placed in the bathroom and turned on the burner. The pot also contained an open bottle of rubbing alcohol. The result was an explosion that damaged their apartment, including windows and door frames," according to charging documents.

Kang and her husband sustained minor injuries and 90 families were evacuated at 4 a.m. from the Lehi Tech Apartments, 1350 E. 200 South.

At the time, Lehi police said the explosion appeared to be "related to a mental health episode."

"Authorities have taken the necessary steps to ensure that the individual involved received the help they needed," police said.

Correction: A previous version indicated Kang's wife was injured, though it was her husband.

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.

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