(Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
WOOD RIVER — Wood River Mayor Greg Cramer said Tuesday, March 12, that it was a “miracle” that more people weren’t injured in what he described as a “massive” house explosion on March 2.
One person was treated and released from a hospital after the explosion. The lone person killed was the male resident of 107 E. 11th St., who tampered with the natural gas line in is basement and ignited it, causing the explosion.
Eight homes were severely damaged in the blast, and at least six of the homes will be torn down, Cramer said.
He gave a report about the explosion at the Hall County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, along with Hall County Building Inspector Ryan Grubbs and Grand Island/Hall County Emergency Management Director Jon Rosenlund.
Rosenlund said there were 43 structures affected by the explosion, eight churches and businesses, two public buildings (library and city hall), and the elementary school.
Rosenlund said American Red Cross volunteers assisted eight families after the explosion.
At approximately 9:05 a.m. Saturday, March 2, the odor of natural gas was evident in the area where the home exploded, Cramer said. One resident warned a number of neighbors adjacent or near to the house that exploded about the natural gas smell. The residents left their homes prior to the 9:16 a.m. March 2 explosion. Hall County Sheriff’s deputies were also in the vicinity just prior to the explosion.
“The Sheriff’s Department did an excellent job,” Cramer said.
He praised the mutual aid response that came from neighboring communities whose fire departments responded to the explosion.
“Everything’s pretty much cleaned up on the streets,” Cramer said. “The building inspector has been through most of the buildings affected. The insurance companies are working with the affected homeowners. The ones that are deemed completely destroyed – the insurance companies are making settlements with the homeowners.’
People whose homes are uninhabitable are having to leave Wood River because only two to three rental homes were available, Cramer said.
“The Methodist Church is deemed unusable right now. The roof went up and went down,” Cramer said. The church is across the street from the house that exploded. Members of the Wood River church are going to the Methodist Church in Alda. Both churches have the same minister, he said.
At the elementary school in the gym, the ceiling also went up and came down.
On Sunday, March 3, approximately 150 people showed up to assist with clean up after the explosion, Cramer said.
“There were nails everywhere,” Cramer said. Volunteers used magnetic strips to pick up the nails.
Hall County Building Inspector Ryan Grubbs was informed at 10:15 a.m. March 2 about the explosion. He went to Wood River and began inspecting buildings. He looked at 20 to 25 houses to make sure they were structurally safe. The Presbyterian Church had some structural damage, Grubbs said.
Cramer showed a Wood River map with home icons of various colors dotting the map. The greatest damage occurred within a one-block radius of the explosion, but the explosion affected structures blocks away. For instance, Fairbanks Equipment downtown had eight windows that were damaged.
Sheriff Rick Conrad showed Hall County commissioners aerial views of Wood River near the explosion site.
