From Staff Reports, Cleburne Times-Review, June 8, 2010
One person was killed and eight others were sent to hospitals on Monday in a natural gas explosion that generated a towering flame that could be seen from miles around.
Officials initially feared at least three had been killed on a remote site on County Road 1120 when a work crew of 14 men from a Louisiana-based company, digging to plant power poles for Brazos Electric hit a 36-inch high-pressure gas line, said Keith Scarbrough, an assistant fire chief with the city of Cleburne.
The worker killed has not been identified pending notification of immediate family and an official report from the Tarrant County medical examiner, according to Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford.
Six of the workers were sent to the Glen Rose Medical Center and were in stable condition, Gary Marks, the hospital’s CEO said. Another was sent to Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth by helicopter. His condition was unknown. One other was also sent to an area hospital.
The fire that raged for more than two hours burned about 100 acres in Johnson, Somervell and Hood counties, Alford said. A representative from Enterprise, the owner of the gas line, was finally able to shut off the valve, and the fire from the line eventually burned itself off, Cleburne Fire Chief Clint Ishmael said. The fire had been put out by about 4:45 p.m., Alford said.
Quicksilver Resources also has a sub-station nearby, but it was unknown if that facility played any part, Alford said.
Donnie McAnear, owner of McAnear Oil Field Rentals, said he heard the explosion at around 2:20 p.m. and called 911.
“It was a big boom,” McAnear said. “Lots of vibration.
“God, it was loud.”
McAnear, whose business is on U.S. 67 about a half mile from the fire site, said he saw workers from the power company working in the area earlier in the day.
Firefighters from Cleburne, Bono, Godley, Liberty Chapel, Joshua, Cresson and numerous other departments responded to the scene as did several ambulances and medical helicopters.
They sat helpless, however, because the fire was too intense to get near it. Ishmael said even if they had been able to close in, they wouldn’t have had near enough water.
Confusion ensued in the early stages of the fire.
Officials initially said that three people had been killed in the explosion, though there was hardly any way to confirm that because rescuers were prevented from making an accurate determination.
Ishmael said an initial concussion or vibration of the ground when the line was hit probably caused most of the workers to scatter before the explosion.
Alford said the rescue and recovery crews initially were unable Monday evening to even search the site because the ground was too hot and air contamination concerns.
Residents in Johnson County were alarmed by the blast. Many thought described what they thought was low-flying jet. Others thought it was storm. One thought it was a tornado.
“I live off of FM 917, between Joshua and Godley and we heard a roaring sound that almost sounded like a fighter jet,” said Christine Leonard. “I saw a growing cloud, too, and we’re 30-35 miles away.”
Staff reporters Matt Smith, Pete Kendall and Steve Knight contributed to this report.
