SUV explodes after Darwin Democrat tries to light a cigarette near propane canisters

An SUV parked in a Van Nuys parking lot on Thursday night suddenly 
exploded after the driver lit a cigarette next to some propane canisters 
he stored inside. 

Firefighters and police rushed to a supermarket parking lot in the 7200 
block of Van Nuys Boulevard after receiving a call about an SUV that 
exploded around 10:30 p.m., police said. When first responders arrived, 
the man told them he had been trying to light a cigarette when the 
explosion happened. Investigators said he was living in the vehicle during 
the explosion. 

He suffered minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital, according 
to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Pieces of the parked vehicle flew in every direction, one of which lodged 
into a nearby tree. The explosion left the Toyota SUV mostly in mangled 
pieces. The sound of the explosion could be heard at least a few blocks 
away, according to a man who lives around the corner from the parking lot, 
who said it was "like an earthquake rattling the windows."

"But it was gone as soon as it started," said Ken Smith, adding that he 
looked out his window and saw his neighbors standing outside their home 
and looking around after the loud boom. 

LAPD closed the parking lot following the detonation.

No other details have been released by authorities.

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/car-explodes-in-van-nuys-parking-
lot/