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GAS LINE EXPLOSION IN WASHINGTON PARISH, LA 6/18/13

8h ago
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WASHINGTON PARISH, La. - A pre-dawn gas line explosion shook residents out of their beds in a rural area of Washington Parish near the community of Enon. Officials were on the scene on Lee Road Tuesday and closed the roads one mile around the explosion. Florida Gas, who owns the line, shut down the gas line around 6:45 a.m., and the fire has been extinguished, officials said. "We've evacuated around 55 people," Seal said. "There has been no fatalities; no one died; there's no injuries." He said officials believe that they have the situation "under control." The area of the explosion looked as if a bomb had detonated with scorched earth, said Seal. The report from the Louisiana State Police and Department of Environmental Quality Hazmat indicated the suspected cause of the explosion was a rupture of a 30-inch natural gas line, according to the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Seal said the gas company will be releasing more gas in an attempt to get the remaining "residual gas out of the pipeline. So you may be hearing a few more explosions, but nothing serious is going to happen." Eyewitnesses called the WWL-TV newsroom to report they heard the blast around 5:30 a.m. Viewers reported a bright orange light in the sky and a funny smell in the area. A nearby mobile home received some damage, according to Louisiana State Fire Marshal Butch Browning. The trailer was about 300 feet from the explosion, Seal said, melting the vinyl off the trailer, though the windows remained intact. "It was occupied, but those folks got out okay." The cause of the explosion is unknown and under investigation. With multiple road closures around the explosion site, Trooper Nick Manale, a spokesman for State Police, advised motorists to avoid the area until the all-clear is given. About 10,000 residents lost power due to the explosion. Those experiencing power outages should call the Washington-St. Tammany Electrical Cooperative at 1-866-672-9773. sourced link: http://www.wwltv.com/news/Possible-explosion-in-Washington-Parish-211948301.html