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Finding cause of explosion
Spokesman: Investigation could take weeks or months
HANOVER
A spokesman for the El Paso Corporation said Friday it could take weeks or months to determine what caused one of its pipelines to explode.
Richard N. Wheatley, a spokesman for El Paso Corp. of Houston, said it is the parent company of Tennessee Gas Pipeline, owner of the natural-gas pipeline that exploded near here at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday. No injuries were reported. Workers were able to shut off the natural gas by 11:30 p.m.
Wheatley said there are three natural-gas lines in the area, but the other two were not damaged. The company handles natural-gas transmissions from coast to coast.
Palmer McGuire of nearby Dungannon said at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, he heard a boom and felt heat and saw bright lights.
The explosion shook his house, he said.
He said the weather has been ice cold, but when he went outside, it was warm.
“I’m not scared of much,” he said Friday. “But it scared me.”
One of his relatives, Mike Miller, also said he felt the blast.
McGuire said that at first, he thought it was a low fly-over from the Pittsburgh airport or the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna.
McGuire said then he realized that part of the natural-gas transmission line had blown.
From his property, McGuire pointed at a distant ridge west of Dungannon topped by tall trees. Above the trees were light clouds. McGuire said the flames had topped the clouds.
A burned, brown area with a hole in the ground was visible Friday. The Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office has blocked traffic to the area.
Some 17 fire departments took some part in the response, according to a statement made by the county’s Emergency Management Agency.
The Red Cross was ready to open shelters, but none was needed.