A natural gas explosion occurred late Monday morning north of Lake Springfield. Gas crews from Springfield City Utilities were doing maintenance work on a valve on a natural gas transmission line in a hole that had been dug in the South Creek and Ravenwood area — near Briar and Charleston — around 11:30 a.m.
Three crew members were in the pit when a mechanical failure resulted in the valve not turning off the gas as it was supposed to, said CU spokesman Joel Alexander. Something created a spark, and it ignited a fireball that shot 50 feet into the air. He said the workers were able to escape and sustained only minor cuts and abrasions.
The fireball damaged power lines above the gas transmission line as well as two substation feeders.
Alexander said about 1700 customers were without power for several hours Monday. He said the explosion resulted in "a good-sized and lengthy evacuation" of residents from Charleston Ave. to Republic Rd.
He said fire crews responded immediately. The valve was capped, and the fire was allowed to burn itself out. Even though fire crews couldn't put the fire out, they cooled down two homes near where the explosion occurred to protect them from damage. The Red Cross was on standby to help if needed, said Alexander.
CU crews train with area fire departments, he said, to prepare for incidents like this one.
