FLORESVILLE, Texas – An investigation into the cause of a gas line explosion in Floresville is expected to wrap up soon.
Floresville City Manager Andy Joslin said there could be findings as soon as late Thursday afternoon.
According to the city, a crew installing fiber optic lines in the area near H Street and 9th Street on Tuesday afternoon accidentally hit an underground gas main, initially causing just a gas leak.
However, it ultimately triggered an explosion that destroyed one home and left at least 10 others with damage.
“I was just lying in my room and I heard a really big boom,” said Dylan Ximenez. “It scared me.”
Although first responders reportedly had gone door-to-door, warning residents to leave due to the gas leak, Ximenez said he remained in his home.
He did not want to try evacuating with three pets in tow.
“It shook all the frames off the wall. Pictures fell. We had a mirror fall,” he said, describing the impact.
When it was all over, the home he rents had a single broken window.
Others in the neighborhood didn’t fare as well.
All throughout the area are homes with boarded up windows. One across the street from Ximenez caught fire and now sits in a pile of rubble.
Joslin said the city is working to get relief for the victims.
“We’re working with Rise Broadband, who is the internet company putting the infrastructure here in Floresville,” Joslin said. “We’re going to work with their insurance company to see how quickly we can get the citizens assisted.”
In the meantime, he said, victims can call Floresville City Hall for information and to find answers to any questions they may have.
Joslin said steps also have been taken to minimize any future danger.
“Any construction that’s dealing with digging underground, we’ve stopped that at this time,” he said.
Coincidentally, one crew apparently ignored that order.
While KSAT 12 News was in Floresville on Thursday, firefighters and police responded to another scene where workers hit an underground gas line.
That incident was along Highway 181, less than a quarter mile from Tuesday’s explosion site.
In the latest gas leak, though, there was no explosion, and no injuries were reported.