North Texas Gas Explosion

[sonias]

Dallas Morning News 6/7/10
Johnson County natural gas explosion

JOHNSON COUNTY — A natural gas line explosion, apparently caused by a worker installing utility poles, left one person missing and likely dead Monday afternoon and sent several more to the hospital.

The spectacular 2:45 p.m. explosion, midway between Cleburne and Granbury on Georges Creek Ranch, rocked homes more than five miles away and shot flames so high into the air that they could be seen just outside Fort Worth.

“My whole building was shaking,” said Carolyn Black, who lives about five miles away from the explosion site. “It sounded like someone landing a big Jumbo 747 in the backyard.”

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/060710-North-Texas-Gas-Well-Explosion">Fox News Fort Worth 6/7/10
North Texas Gas Explosion Injures Several
DALLAS - A gas line explosion in North Texas that sent enormous flames and plumes of smoke into the sky injured at least seven people, some of whom were initially believed to have been killed.

The blast erupted at about 3 p.m. at 2101 County Road 1120 in Hood County, near Highway 67, south of Fort Worth.

An electric company crew drilling holes for power lines accidentally sparked the explosion by hitting a 36-inch gas line owned by Enterprise Products Partners L.P., according to the Johnson County Sheriff's Department.

Seven men from the C&H Powerline Construction crew were hurt and one remained unaccounted for. The injured were treated for burns at two hospitals. At Glen Rose Medical Center, four were discharged, one was listed in stable condition and another was being treated in the ER. Another man was treated at Harris Methodist Hospital but his condition was not known.

Both of these stories describe the same incident. The Fox News story was the earlier version. Now it appears that one of the crew is presumed dead. May they rest in peace.

[sonias]

1. Massive pipeline explosion rocks Johnson County

Fort Worth Star-Telegram 6/7/10
Massive pipeline explosion rocks Johnson County

JOHNSON COUNTY -- A subcontractor trying to install a large electrical pole struck a 36-inch natural gas transmission line south of Pecan Plantation on Monday afternoon, sparking a huge explosion that burned for more than two hours.

Emergency workers were finally able to approach the site, known as the "Spunky Substation," after 5 p.m., more than two hours after the blast.

Two or three people, likely workers at the scene of the blast, were missing, officials said.

Chester Nolen, Cleburne city manager, told WFAA/Channel 8 that three people were dead, but other officials have not confirmed that.

Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said he knew only that two people were missing.

"The good news is that this was out on a big ranch in the middle of nothing," Alford said. "There were no houses or anything, just trees and grass."

[sonias]

2. 1 missing after natural gas line blast in Texas

This latest story indicates that the person may be alive. I hope so.

AAS 6/7/10
1 missing after natural gas line blast in Texas
(snip)
Johnson County Emergency Coordinator Jack Snow said searchers were scouring the charred area around the damaged line looking for the missing person. Thirteen other workers who were also at the site were accounted for, and there were no known fatalities, he said.

The missing worker had just gotten down from a machine drilling utility pole holes when the line suddenly exploded. Other workers lost sight of him in the intense smoke, said Roger Harmon, Johnson County's top elected official. Several workers drove themselves to the hospital before emergency crews arrived, so it's possible that the missing man left the scene on his own, Harmon said.

"I really hope he is at home safe, but we're still searching," he said.

[sonias]

3. 1 dead after natural gas pipeline explosion

Updated story; :(

AAS 6/8/10
1 dead after natural gas pipeline explosion
Authorities found the missing worker's body several hours after the explosion, once searchers could walk safely through the entire charred area. Authorities had hoped the missing man had left the scene on his own, like some of his colleagues who drove themselves to hospitals.

Brian Fine, Hood County's emergency management coordinator, said the worker's body was found some distance from the blast site. The man's name was not released.

The worker had been riding a truck drilling holes for utility poles when the line exploded, and other workers lost sight of him in the intense smoke, said Roger Harmon, Johnson County's top elected official.

[sonias]

5. Officials ID man killed in Johnson County gas line explosion

My condolences to the Neese family. May James Robert rest in peace.

Dallas Morning News 6/8/10
Officials ID man killed in Johnson County gas line explosion
CLEBURNE – Authorities this morning identified an Oklahoma man killed in Monday’s gas line explosion in rural Johnson County.

James Robert Neese, 45, of Ramona, Okla., was operating the drilling equipment that officials say pierced the 36-inch line between Cleburne and Granbury on Georges Creek Ranch.

Officials were waiting for a final identification from the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office, but Neese is the only missing member of the 14-member work crew.

Who is responsible for the accident?

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams said it appeared that the Oklahoma electric transmission company installing power poles at the site, C&H Power Line Construction, had made the appropriate calls to locate gas lines in the area. What’s unclear is what happened after that process began, he said.

Don't look now but the TRRC looks like the national MMS when it comes to "regulating" the industry. Williams insists that the "intricate network of gas pipelines in the Barnett Shale remains safe". Sounds a lot like the Minerals Management Services talking about deep ocean drilling in the Gulf Coast. Nothing to see here, move along...

[sonias]

4. Another blast in a different part of N. Texas

AAS 6/8/10
Blast in Texas Panhandle kills 2, injures 3

DARROUZETT, Texas — A Texas Panhandle sheriff says two people are dead from a gas pipeline explosion.

Lipscomb County Sheriff James Robertson said in a news release Tuesday that the men were killed shortly after the natural gas pipeline blew in a remote part of the region.

One man was injured and taken by helicopter to a hospital in Oklahoma City. Two others working near the explosion escaped with what are believed to be nonlife-threatening injuries.

What a horrible run of gas line explosions this week.