More Than 100 Evacuated from Neighborhood After Explosion

Updated at 8:55 p.m.

Authorities are still seeking the cause of a blast that shook a neighborhood in northeast Burnsville on Friday afternoon. At least 100 residents were evacuated after an underground sewer line erupted, sending three manhole covers flying eight to 12 feet in the air.

“Those manholes weigh 100 pounds a piece. That’s a lot of force,” said Fire Marshal Lee LaTourelle.

No one was hurt, though many were herded out of the neighborhood near River Hills Drive and Highway 13 East.

The source of the blast remains unknown. LaTourelle said many residents complained of a distinct smell of gasoline shortly before and after the explosion. On arrival, emergency workers found high levels of carbon monoxide in the sewer lines, up to 1,000 to 1,200 parts per million.

“That’s really explosive. We still don’t know quite what happened,” LaTourelle said.

LaTourelle said it was possible that somewhere in the system an incomplete combustion produced the onslaught of CO. As of Friday night, however, authorities had not found a definitive cause.

When asked if the explosion could be the result of intentional tampering, LaTourelle said, “Your guess is as good as mine. We’ve seen people pour oil or gas down the sewer before, but there were no signs that that had occurred in the immediate area.”

By 8 p.m., CO levels had fallen to within the normal range. Officials announced that they were flushing the system, a process that would take several hours. In the meantime, residents waited in the basement of River Hills United Methodist Church until it was safe to return home.

Duane Harves and his wife were home at the time of the explosion. Harves said he was working in the basement when he heard four distinct booms.

“It rattled the whole house,” he said.

Across Highway 13, resident Ina Kusic was startled by an inexplicable roar.

"I heard a loud noise and at first I thought it was a car accident. Then I heard all the fire trucks coming down the road," Kusic said. "I never expected this."

Residents Joanne Mieling and Michael Mieling said they had only minutes to leave their home on Hayes Drive in the River Hills neighborhood earlier Friday.

"A fireman came to the door and said there had been a chemical spill," Michael Mieling said. "It didn't register in the air, but it had gotten into the sewers."

The fireman told them there had already been a couple of explosions.

"We have no idea when we can go back," Joanne Mieling said. "They told us to check the city's website."

Lee Hillis said he was on his way home from the grocery store and was stopped from going to his house on Ridgewood Court. He met up with his wife, Sandy Hillis, when she came home from work.

"Everything was blocked off," she said. "One woman told me it was a gas leak."

Both couples decided to wait it out at a Perkins along I-35W. Sandy Hillis said she has no idea either how long the wait will be.

Officers from the Incident Command Center in Eagan, the Minnesota Collapsed Structure Rescue Team, Dakota County Special Operations and fire departments from Burnsville, Apple Valley, Rosemount, Lakeville, Inver Grove Heights, Eagan and Hastings responded to the scene.

LaTourelle said the City of Burnsville would provide a full explanation as soon as the investigation concluded. Burnsville Patch will provide updates here as they become available, so keep checking back.