Gas line break creates massive fireball in W. Va.
A natural-gas transmission line in West Virginia ruptured this afternoon. From WOWKTV:
[An] explosion rocked Sissonville shortly before 1 p.m. today, setting several homes on fire and forcing officials to issue a shelter in place for local residents.
The explosion caused huge flames to race throughout the area, lapping both sides on Interstate 77, which has been closed to all northbound and southbound traffic.
Sgt. Michael Bayless with the West Virginia State Police said the investigation into the cause of the explosion is still ongoing and very preliminary. He said crews with Columbia Gas are working to shut off the pipeline to control the fire. However he said that process is very delicate because they don’t want to reignite the explosion.
So far, no injuries have been reported.
The Charleston Gazette’s Ken Ward is tweeting updates; we’ve compiled information about the blast below.
Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.
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