Neighborhood Evacuated Following Massive Gas Line Explosion [PHOTOS+VIDEO]
MELVINDALE (WWJ) - A neighborhood in Melvindale was evacuated early Saturday morning following a massive explosion at a DTE Energy-MichCon facility.
Authorities say a car went through a fence at the facility on Greenfield and Allen roads around 3 a.m. and struck a large natural gas main. The collision sparked a huge explosion with flames as much as 30 feet high.
Witnesses say they could see the glow of the fire from nearly 20 miles away. For residents like Ronnie Evans, it felt like the explosion happened on their doorstep.
"I heard this roaring sound, it sounded like a plane over top of my house," said Evans. "I'm laying there like 'What is that noise?' and I looked out the window and all I seen was this orange glow and it looked like it was moving, like it was right at my house."
Others said the explosion reminded them of the end of the world.
"I heard a roaring, I thought maybe it was a tornado. I went to look outside and I seen this, looked like a 1,000 foot flame in the air," said resident Clint Turlin. "I figured it was some kind of natural gas, but I had no idea."
The driver of the vehicle was taken to a local hospital, although his current condition is unknown. Information about his identity has not been released.
Melvindale Police Chief Chad Hayse said the vehicle was traveling southbound on Greenfield Road and for some reason, made a sharp left turn onto DTE property.
"[The gas main] is not that close to the road. This individual traveled a distance off the roadway. It's not four or five feet off the street," he said. "I've been here 25 years and no one has even gone that path. We don't know why the individual drove where he drove."
Hayse said it's too early to say whether or not alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash.
Residents who live in an 18 block area west of Flint Street and north of Elizabeth were evacuated from their homes and directed to the Intercity Baptist Church, at 4700 Allen Road. Some residents also fled to Melvindale High School as well as the Allen Park Civic Arena.
DTE Energy officials say they were notified of the explosion at 3:03 a.m. and were on the scene 10 minutes later.
"The gas was quickly turned off," said DTE spokesman Pete Ternes. "Some of what you saw was the residual gas burning off in that fire there, that attracted so much attention."
Residents, like Evans, gathered their families and got out of the area as quickly as they could.
"This explosion just totally rocked the house," she said, getting emotional. "We got into both of our cars, we just knew we had to get as far away from what was going on. We didn't know if we were going to have a house to go back to."
Police say no homes were damaged in the explosion, and aside from the driver, no injuries were reported.
Just after 9 a.m., officials said the evacuation order was lifted and residents were allowed back in their homes. DTE Energy spokesperson Scott Simon said crews are monitoring the air quality and other conditions to ensure the safety of the community and surrounding area.
"Right now we're assessing damage and the situation seems to be under control at this point," said Simon. "This is the first time that we've had a situation like this at our Allen Road facility. It doesn't happen very often, if at all. This is something totally out of the ordinary, but we do prepare for situations like this. Safety is our top priority."
Two DTE Energy employees were on site at the time of the explosion, but both were outside the perimeter, Simon added.
The incident remains under investigation.
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