The smoldering remains of a house, left, where an explosion killed Josh Powell and his two sons, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, is shown from the air in Graham, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Few neighbors around Josh Powell's rental home in Graham, Wash., knew the true gravity of what unfolded before their eyes Sunday. As flames consumed the single-story residence at the end of their cul-de-sac, one neighbor told a reporter she assumed it was a "meth house."

But for reporters and police, the reality of the situation was much clearer. Among the charred rubble of the home on 189th Street Court were the bodies of Josh Powell and his two young sons, Charlie and Braden.

"I didn't expect what I saw when I got there. Just knowing that the bodies were still in there," said 97.3 KIRO-FM Reporter Brandi Kruse, who arrived at the home Sunday as firefighters put out the last of the blaze. The house was a complete loss, with a torched car and burnt-out drying machine visible from the street.

Listen to Reporter Brandi Kruse describe the scene at the Powell home explosion

Kruse described an emotional reaction to hearing the news from her editor early Sunday afternoon, while enjoying the nice weather in Seattle.

"They had said what happened and I just kind of gasped," she told the Ross and Burbank show Monday. "Honestly (I was) kind of shaking the whole way down there."

Other reporters on the scene told Kruse they had a similar reaction upon hearing the news, and deputies were visibly upset.

"Everybody knew who was in that house. They knew everything about them. Everything about their lives," she said. "I think people here, especially, have been very emotionally invested in the outcome of this story, of Susan Powell's story. So I think looking at this house, we didn't just see, as reporters and the the public, a disaster. We saw a personal tragedy."

Dave said his heart went out to the neighbors and members of the Cox family.

"This is tragedy and a horror show that shouldn't be visited on anyone," he said. "Imagine being one of the neighbors, having to go back to that neighborhood where this terrible thing happened. That haunts you."

Brandi Kruse, 97.3 KIRO FM

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