Videos capture natural gas pipeline explosion in Pine County

UPDATE:

The Pine County Sheriff’s Office says that the cities of Willow River and Sturgeon Lake will not have gas Friday night, but it is projected to return sometime Saturday morning.

Minnesota Energy Resources said in an update that natural gas service to about 650 customers was interrupted and that temporary natural gas supplies are being delivered by truck. They added that crews are working throughout the night and customers are asked to keep their thermostats between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit and limit gas use.

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    Pine County explosion investigation 

A natural gas explosion produced fireballs that could be seen for miles Friday afternoon in east-central Minnesota.

The Pine County Sheriff’s Office says around 1:43 p.m., a large pipeline burst and caused an explosion near Willow River, about 40 miles southwest of Duluth.

Videos shared with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS captured twin columns of fire reaching into the sky.

    View this post on Instagram            A post shared by KSTP 5 Eyewitness News (@kstptv)

Several households in the vicinity of the explosion were evacuated, and no injuries have been reported, the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities do not believe any foul play was involved.

Northern Natural Gas and emergency responders are at the scene working to contain the rupture.

Minnesota Energy Resources said the outage is impacting about 500 customers, as natural gas is no longer being fed into the pipeline.

The company said it is working closely with the transmission pipeline operator to restore service as quickly as possible, but notes that it may not be fully restored for several days.
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