SWAT training continues this week at Aloha Motel

Explosions coming from the Aloha Motel should be no cause for alarm Oct. 6 and 7, as a Bellingham police SWAT team continues to train at the vacant Samish Way property.

Officers will detonate explosives to breach doors — three per hour, at times — and carry out other exercises to practice breaking down doors from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

“This is a rare opportunity for officers to get real-life training at a site where there are multiple intact doors and windows,” Bellingham police wrote in a press release.

The training started Monday morning.

The city of Bellingham bought the Aloha, a longtime hub for drug deals, prostitution and crime, at a price of $1.58 million this year, with plans to raze the motel and its meth-contaminated rooms. An exact timeline for demolition hasn’t been announced, though city officials said the process could begin as soon as this month.

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 4:05 PM with the headline "SWAT training continues this week at Aloha Motel."