Natural-gas line explodes in West Virginia

[Marthe48]

Last edited Mon Jan 26, 2015, 07:34 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Near Follansbee, WV, in Brooke County, across from Steubenville, Ohio.





Read more: http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/consumers-powersource/2015/01/26/Natural-gas-line-explodes-in-West-Virginia/stories/201501260125

---

Area is evacuated, fire departments still on the scene, according to WOWK news, Huntington, WV


In other news:

Diesel spill into tributary of the Greenbrier River near Lewisburg, WV, 12,000 without water:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/12000-west-virginia-water-due-spill-28482545

AND, in other news:
West Virginia votes overwhelmingly to repeal the Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/22/west-virginia-house-passes-energy-act-repeal-overw/

[valerief]

1. Move along. Nothing to see, folks. Just business as usual. It's not nearly as bad as those

solar line explosions, so we should thank the Lord.

[Marthe48]

2. I'd love to see an overflow of sun

especially today

[valerief]

3. Yeah, I'm waiting to get buried in snow over the next day and a half. nt

[Panich52]

7. I see you used the Capito/Manchin smilie...

[xocet]

4. This link goes directly to the story....

http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/consumers-powersource/2015/01/26/Natural-gas-line-explodes-in-West-Virginia/stories/201501260125

[Marthe48]

5. Thanks for that

I thought I was copy/pasting the correct link.

[xocet]

8. No problem.

Last year on Thanksgiving, there was a gas pipeline that exploded in a county near me. It took them a couple of hours to get it under control.

All of this makes me wonder if there is a national count of gas pipeline explosions being kept.

[Marthe48]

12. did you see the animated map DeSwiss posted below?

After your comment? Excellent! I saw a plain map with pipeline incidents, but DeSwiss's is a great resource.

In 1983, a gas well exploded near Caldwell, Ohio. We lived about 20 miles away, in Lewisville, Ohio and heard the rushing of the gas from the well. We thought at first it was a tornado, but it kept on and on. They had to call Red Adair in to cap the well. After all these years, you can still see the where the well was.

[xocet]

13. No, I did not. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Your description of the well explosion that you experienced is interesting.

[Marthe48]

14. We thought it might be the world ending

Hellish sound. And when we found out how far away it was, still unbelievable. Over 20 miles away, even as the crow flies.

[xocet]

15. It was similar here. My neighbor and I drove as close to the site as seemed reasonably safe - given

the direction of the winds and thus the plume.

The drive took a while since we were following back roads to try to get a better glimpse of what was going on - the flames were clearly visible for miles - later, on the map, we found it to be 12 miles away as the crow flies.

Initially, it seemed as if a jet were circling at about 500 feet. The ground and house shook for what seemed like three minutes or so. The northern horizon was completely lit by the fire. The whole experience was surreal, and it was all due to a 30-inch pipeline. I cannot imagine what a well or a larger pipeline (if they exist) would be like.

[Marthe48]

16. Great description

The noise was indescribable.
Caldwell was a 36" transmission line.
Here is a link to a list of pipeline accidents, with details. Maybe the one you witnessed is on here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents_in_the_United_States_1975_to_1999

The more that we share the information about pipeline accidents, the more aware people will be that they are pretty common. And Keystone sounds like it will be the worst.

[TimeToEvolve]

6. another day, another fossil fool calamity

[DeSwiss]

9. They're going to have to update this video.

- K&R

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Here's one from 2012.

Gas explosion causes massive fire in Sissonville {West Virginia}

SISSONVILLE, W.Va. -- An explosion and massive gas line fire in Sissonville has closed Interstate 77 northbound and southbound at the Tuppers Creek exit this afternoon.

Just before 1 p.m., the fire was said to have crossed the interstate itself. A photo taken by Kanawha County Emergency Services shows stories-tall flames covering both northbound and southbound lanes of the interstate.

Metro 911 reported several buildings on fire. Crews apparently extinguished the fire just before 2 p.m. but a large amount of fumes remained in the air, said Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper.

Kanawha County Fire Coordinator C.W. Sigman said a 20-inch gas transmission line ruptured, sending a massive sheet of flames shooting skyward.

Scanner feed: Kanawha County Sheriff, Fire, EMS and Municipal Cities, WV State Police Live Audio Feed

ETA: It made Jalopnik too

An Incredibly Massive Explosion Set The Highway On Fire In West Virginia {UPDATE: FIRE EXTINGUISHED}
http://jalopnik.com/5967574/an-incredibly-massive-explosion-has-set-the-highway-on-fire-in-west-virginia

[Marthe48]

11. This one was covered by WTAP

So we watched the whole story.