The LAPD Bomb Squad spent about three hours inside the single-family home in the 22100 block of Avenida Morelos before allowing neighbors to return. Officials refused to disclose what sparked their concern but did say that no explosives or other hazardous materials were found.

They also refused to identify the parolee, who was taken into custody while they checked whether he was complying with the conditions of his release.

Neighbor Roy Sykes, 61, was in bed when authorities knocked on his door at 7:30 a.m. and ordered him to leave.

Sykes grabbed his two border collies and drove to a nearby Starbucks, returning home when he saw the TV helicopters hovering over his neighborhood depart.

"It's a strange thing," Sykes said. "I've never been evacuated before."

Linda Love, 58, went out for breakfast with her brother from Granada Hills after two police officers rang her doorbell and advised her to evacuate.

"I asked them if I should grab my things, but they said to just go. So I did," Love said. "I thought it was for a hazardous spill on the freeway. Never ever would I have thought this was for a bomb scare."