FLORESVILLE, Texas – People in a Floresville neighborhood are still assessing the damage to their homes from a gas line explosion that rocked the area Tuesday afternoon.
A statement from the City of Floresville said a crew installing fiber optic lines in the area near H Street and 9th Street hit an underground gas line, which triggered the fiery explosion that leveled one home.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Julian Trevino, who was visiting a friend on H Street at the time.
Like most of the other people in the area, Trevino and his friend evacuated during the initial gas leak and then went to a nearby Wal-Mart store.
Soon, though, Trevino realized they wouldn’t be able to return to the friend’s home.
“When we were coming back, that’s when we saw the smoke,” he said.
After spending the night at a motel, the pair returned Wednesday morning and noticed that one of the windows on the home had been blown out.
The friend’s home is directly across the street from the one that is no longer standing.
Trevino says he was stunned by what he saw.
KSAT drone footage showed a shocking scene: a home reduced to rubble surrounded by a field of debris.
Other homes around it had broken or boarded-up windows.
Mary Barrera, who lives behind the flattened home, took stock of the damage at her place.
“My house moved,” she said. “(It) cracked the walls, and the windows broke.”
Barrera spent part of Wednesday morning at a nearby taco stand. She said the damage left her unable to cook at home.
Still, she said, she is grateful no one was hurt.
“I was happy everybody was fine, but I’m sorry for my friend because she lost her house,” Barrera said.
A crew spent most of the morning working to repair the blown-out gas line.
What is still unclear, though, is who is responsible for the repairs to the damaged homes.
Rise Broadband, the company overseeing the fiber installation project, acknowledged the incident in a written statement Tuesday:
“Our company has deployed management team members to the scene. We are fully cooperating with the city, local public works and officials as they conduct a thorough investigation into this matter. We are very grateful to the first responders who answered the initial call and that there were no injuries or loss of life reported. Due to the preliminary nature of an ongoing investigation, Rise Broadband can offer no further information at this time. We will provide further information as it becomes available.”