MINDEN- A series of explosions at a north Louisiana National Guard complex terrified nearby residents, prompted some evacuations and led authorities to discover 16 million pounds of improperly stored artillery propellant.
    
Now, nearly 3½ years later, the privately contracted cleanup of the site once operated by Explo Systems Inc. is about to begin.
    
The National Guard has hired Explosive Service International based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to burn the dangerous propellant in a special chamber delivered to the site. The Army is paying $32 million for cleanup.
    
Lt.  Col. Pete Schneider says 800 pounds of propellant will be burned at a time. The project will last a year with the burn unit running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, once it's fully operational.