'There's just nothing left' 5 to 7 missing after massive explosion rocks Lincoln County, KY

[bluedigger]

Source: WWLTV

At least 75 people were evacuated from their homes after a gas pipeline explosion in Lincoln County early Thursday morning.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, a rupture in a 30-inch gas pipeline less than a mile away from U.S. 127 caused an explosion that caught at least six structures on fire. Officials said they are still not sure what caused it. Residents in Moreland and Hustonville were evacuated.

At least one person was killed in the explosion, five were injured and five to seven people are still unaccounted for, Don Gilliam, director of Lincoln County Emergency Management, said.

"There's just nothing left," Gilliam said of the area where the explosion happened.

Read more: https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/theres-just-nothing-left-5-to-7-missing-after-massive-explosion-rocks-lincoln-county-kentucky/417-63149d16-429c-4697-a0fa-72e89ff60b95

[theophilus]

1. Maybe I'm just paying more attention but it seems like this sort of thing

is happening more often of late. Crumbling infrastructure? (Republican's fault). Russian manipulation or sabotage? (Republican's fault) Whatever? (Republican's fault) I wish people would just wake up and look around.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

6. If I had to hazard a guess....

it would be a weakened Federal regulatory environment. Weakened inspection requirements or allowing "self-monitoring" of energy facilities (wells, drilling platforms, pipelines, refineries, coal mines, power plants) invites these incidents and I guarantee we'll see more with Rethugs like Rick Perry in charge. Just had another refinery explosion near Houston this week.

(snip from Houston Chronicle)

Blast at ExxonMobil Baytown injures dozens

Wednesday morning's fire and explosion was the fourth such incident at a Houston-area chemical facility since April.

After the fact, they always trot out the same lame excuses (shoulda, woulda, coulda) along with thoughts and prayers for the dead and injured.

KY.......

[in2herbs]

2. I am sure they'll be crying for federal $$$ and then claiming they are against socialism.

They already receive more federal $$ than they pay in.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

3. Coverage closer to home (from Lexington)

One dead, others ‘unaccounted for’ after massive gas explosion, fire in Lincoln County
Lexington Herald Leader
By Mike Stunson, Rebekah Alvey, and Blll Estep
August 01, 2019 07:22 AM

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article233381897.html

(snips)

“Our windows were shaking really bad, and our doors and the ground, you could hear the ground just moving and tumbling and rolling,” Sue Routin told LEX 18. “And then we got to feeling the heat from the fire, so we got in our vehicle and took off to get away from it.”
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About 75 people were sent to the church until they can return to their homes, Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff Jim Vines said. A 1.5 mile stretch of U.S. 127 between Junction City and Hustonville is closed, Vines added.

A ruptured gas line, which has since been turned off, caused the explosion, according to James McGuffey, area manager for Embridge, the parent company of Texas Eastern that owns the line. A cause was not immediately known, and it could take several days to determine, he added.
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In the 8 a.m. press briefing, Kentucky State Police Trooper Robert Purdy said they will begin searching inside the impacted area in a few hours once it cools down. Purdy said train tracks were also damaged and dozens of Norfolk Southern rail cars were backed up.

Sofia Nunez told CNN it sounded like a tornado was outside her Moreland house when the explosion occurred. “When you stepped outside you could hear the flames and feel the heat,” she said. “It shook the house for nearly 30 minutes after the flames appeared and neighbors’ windows were shattered,” she said.

People in Lexington, roughly 40 miles away, could see the fire, according to witnesses. It showed up on the Louisville weather radar, according to WKYT.
-------
Don Coulter, 84, lives in the trailer community and told the Courier-Journal he thought the world was coming to an end. “The clocks were falling off the walls, the trailer was shaking like crazy,” he said. “I went to the door and I see this big ball of fire, and it was noisy. I open the door and the door’s so hot, I couldn’t hold it. I couldn’t get in the car because it was so hot, so run across the road.”

Laura Sioux Kirkpatrick wrote on Facebook her parents lost everything in the fire. She said her mother has burns but is OK. “My step dad who is a Marine said he thought it was a nuclear attack it was so bright and the house walls was just melting right in front of their eyes,” Kirkpatrick wrote. “We don’t know how they got out alive but they did barely and at one point was trapped in the house and was for sure they where not going to get out. My step dad said his body physically hurts from how fast they had to run to get away from the explosion.”

Link to tweet

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. 30 inch gas line?

That sounds way big for a gas line.

Why would a sparsely populated area have a 30 inch gas line?

[ancianita]

5. Right? Speculation might be that it's a continental transport line. There just aren't enough facts.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

7. From the Lexington Herald Leader article posted above.....

(snips)

A ruptured gas line, which has since been turned off, caused the explosion, according to James McGuffey, area manager for Embridge, the parent company of Texas Eastern that owns the line.

The pipeline that exploded was one of three in the area, according to McGuffey. Pressure was decreased drastically in the other two.

The ruptured pipeline, a Texas Eastern transmission line, stretches more than 9,000 miles from the Mexico border in Texas to New York City.

Michael Barnes, an Embridge spokesman for, said Thursday morning, “Our first concern is for those impacted by this incident and ensuring the safety of the community. Our teams are coordinating with first responders to secure the site. We have isolated the affected line. We’ve cut to the pressure to it, and are working closely with emergency responders to manage the situation.”

Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article233381897.html

[chowder66]

8. My heart goes out to those that were injured, killed and are missing (I hope they are found alive).

[stuffmatters]

9. I wonder why they're not reporting correctly that it's Enbridge owned, not Embridge

Rather a crucial typo.

[Rollo]

10. This is reminischent of the horrible gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA, about eight years ago.

It wiped out an entire neighborhood and killed several unfortunate residents.

The utility, PG&E was found at fault for the poorly constructed, poorly maintained, and poorly inspected 30 inch pipeline. The section that blew had multiple substandard welds, and the utility was running it at too high a pressure.

Of course, since then, the utility has convinced the state regulatory board to allow it to jack up rates to pay for its own mistakes. On the positive side, it's been busy digging up pipelines all over its territory in Northern California to inspect and replace as needed.