A gas line explosion early on Thursday, August 1, in a residential community in rural Kentucky sent up a ball of flame that could be seen for miles, killing one person and setting several houses on fire, a local sheriff said.
The woman who was killed in the explosion was found outside her home, Lincoln County Sheriff Curt Folger said.
The cause of the eruption in Moreland, a community about 40 miles south of Lexington, was under investigation, Folger said by phone.
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According to WKYT, about five homes caught fire and 5 people received injuries, firefighters worked to extinguish those blazes, Folger said.
Locals Respond
Sofia Nunez was at her Moreland home when the explosion happened.
“There was a loud noise and it sounded like a tornado was outside our house. When you stepped outside you could hear the flames and feel the heat. It shook the house for nearly 30 minutes after the flames appeared and neighbors windows were shattered,” Nunez told CNN.
Charlie Lynch, in Danville, woke up to the whole sky lit up from the explosion. He said he drove 10-15 minutes before taking video, with flames and smoke visible the whole way.
“Massive explosion and fire across northern Lincoln County. You can actually see this happen on radar. Wow!” Bailey tweeted.
The explosion followed another fatal incident on Wednesday at an oil and gas site in Colorado, north of Denver.
Firefighters responding to a fire at an oil tank found an unresponsive man on top of the tank, at the site just outside the community of Windsor, said Windsor Severance Fire Rescue Chief Kris Kazian. The victim was later pronounced dead.
The site was operated by Denver-based firm Great Western Oil & Gas Co. A representative for the company could not immediately be reached for comment.
