EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a home explosion Thursday in Gypsum. Town officials were notified of a gas leak just before 11 a.m. in the Chatfield Corners neighborhood.
(credit: CBS viewer)
The home explosion was reported at 12:35 p.m. in the area of Valley Road and Cottonwood Pass. Fire investigators and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation are working to determine if anyone was inside the home at the time of the explosion.
“All of the Chatfield Corners neighborhood along with Gypsum Creek Road/Valley Road/Grundel Road/Cottonwood Pass Road have been evacuated,” the sheriff’s office stated.
Investigators said a boring company hit a two-inch dual feed gas line while drilling to lay fiber optic cable in the neighborhood. The strike caused gas to pool underground.
Due to the amount of gas saturated underground, officials believe the gas line was also hit days before the house explosion, but went unreported.
“They don’t know when the line was nicked, it wasn’t reported,” said Tim Lavin, Incident Commander with Greater Eagle Fire Protection District. “The only way they know that is when they went in to purge the system, they found an extremely abnormal amount (of gas) in the ground, which points to a damage in the line.”
Black Hills Energy shut off power to the subdivision. Officials said the neighborhood’s main power line runs underground where the gas leak occurred, prompting the large evacuation.
Underground gas leak in Chatfield has led to a power shut off to minimize threat of spark. Power will be off for an extended period of time for addresses South of Chatfield to Cottonwood Pass and all addresses on Cottonwood Pass West of Gypsum Creek Rd, East of Stoney Creek.
— Town of Gypsum (@townofgypsum1) September 17, 2020
“As you can see this is a pretty big problem and we are working on that with the gas company. We are hoping they can mitigate that by sometime tomorrow. We will know more later this evening as we are planning to work through the night,” said Commander Lavin on Thursday.
Residents who need to retrieve essential medication or pets from their homes can meet at Gypsum Creek Middle School starting at 9:30 p.m. Thursday for a law enforcement escort to their homes.
(credit: Randy Wyrick, Vail Daily)
The American Red Cross is helping people displaced by the gas leak. Officials also set up an evacuation center at the Lundgren Amphitheater Lawn next to the Gypsum rec center to help answer questions.
“I want you to know there are nothing but professionals on site. Everyone is working to the full extent of their ability,” said Gypsum Mayor Steve Carver. “Please do not be ashamed or afraid to ask for help. There are resources available.”
Officials said schools in the area are on a different power grid and gas system, and are no longer under evacuation orders.
Investigators are now testing gas levels at homes throughout the neighborhood. Crews said they set up a venting system to allow the gas to dissipate.
Officials said work will continue throughout the night to ensure homes are secure. The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office will continue to update the situation on their Facebook page.
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September 18, 2020 at 10:13AM
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Home Explosion In Gypsum: Underground Gas Leak Confirmed, Neighborhood Evacuated - CBS Denver
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