LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) – Investigators were working Friday to pinpoint the cause of a series of dramatic natural gas explosions that killed a teenager, injured at least 25 others and left dozens of homes in smoldering ruins.
Authorities said an estimated 8,000 people were displaced at the height of Thursday’s post-explosion chaos in three towns north of Boston that were rocked by the disaster.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to help investigate, saying pipelines are within its jurisdiction.
A damaged house on Jefferson Street, in Lawrence, Mass., is seen Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. The home was one of multiple houses that went up in flames on Thursday afternoon after gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
The rapid-fire series of gas explosions that one official described as “Armageddon” ignited fires in 60 to 80 homes in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, forcing entire neighborhoods to evacuate as crews scrambled to fight the flames and shut off the gas and electricity. Gas remained shut off Friday in most of the area, and the streets were eerily deserted.
Authorities said Leonel Rondon, 18, of Lawrence, died after a chimney toppled by an exploding house crashed into his car. He was rushed to a Boston hospital and pronounced dead there Thursday evening.
Massachusetts State Police urged all residents with homes serviced by Columbia Gas in the three communities to evacuate, snarling traffic and causing widespread confusion as residents and local officials struggled to understand what was happening. Some 400 people spent the night in shelters, and school was canceled Friday as families waited to return to their homes.
John Fluegge, 58, said he came home Thursday to find a note on the door of his apartment building saying everyone had to leave. A police officer directed him to North Andover’s high school, where he slept on a cot.
Fuegge called the situation “confusing more than frightening.”
“You don’t know if your house is going to go up or your apartment,” he said. “It happened all of a sudden, no one knew how it started and everything.” His apartment was not damaged but he has still not been allowed to return because there is no power.
Gov. Charlie Baker said state and local authorities were investigating but that it could take days or weeks before they turn up answers, acknowledging the “massive inconvenience” for those displaced by the explosions. He said hundreds of gas technicians were going house to house to ensure each was safe.
The three communities house more than 146,000 residents about 26 miles (40 kilometers) north of Boston, near the New Hampshire border. Lawrence, the largest of them, is a majority Latino city with a population of about 80,000.
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera reassured immigrants who might not be living in his city legally that they had nothing to fear.
“Do not be afraid. Stay in the light. We will support you and your family,” Rivera said at a news conference Friday, speaking in English and Spanish. “Lawrence is one community.”
Authorities said all of the fires had been extinguished overnight and the situation was stabilizing.
Hours earlier, Andover Fire Chief Michael Mansfield described a starkly different situation.
“It looked like Armageddon, it really did,” he told reporters. “There were billows of smoke coming from Lawrence behind me. I could see pillars of smoke in front of me from the town of Andover.”
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency blamed the fires on gas lines that had become over-pressurized but said investigators were still examining what happened.
Columbia had announced earlier Thursday that it would be upgrading gas lines in neighborhoods across the state, including the area where the explosions happened. It was not clear whether work was happening there Thursday, and a spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.
Aerial footage of the area showed some homes that appeared to be torn apart by blasts.
Joseph Solomon, the police chief in nearby Methuen, said 20 to 25 homes were on fire in Lawrence when he responded to help. He said there are so many fires “you can’t even see the sky.”
Gas explosions have claimed lives and destroyed property around the U.S. in recent years:
– In 2016, a buildup of natural gas triggered an explosion and fire that killed seven people in apartments in Silver Spring, Maryland.
– In 2014, a gas explosion in New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood killed eight people and injured about 50. Consolidated Edison later agreed to pay $153 million to settle charges after the state’s Public Service Commission found it had violated state safety regulations. A gas leak had been reported before that blast.
– A 2011 natural gas explosion killed five people in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and that state’s largest gas utility was fined by regulators, who called the company’s safety record “downright alarming.”
– In September 2010, a Pacific Gas and Electric gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, California, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes.
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Associated Press writers Philip Marcelo in Lawrence, Alanna Durkin Richer and Collin Binkley in Boston and Mary Schwalm in North Andover contributed to this report.
Michael Smolak, of Smolak Farms in North Andover, delivers a bag of baked goods to the emergency shelter set up at North Andover High School of Friday, Sept 14, 2018. Many residents were forced to evacuate their homes Thursday afternoon after gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
A house on Herrick Road in North Andover, Mass., is seen Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. The home was one of multiple houses that went up in flames on Thursday afternoon after gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
ADDS IDENITY OF VICTIM LEONEL RONDON- A collapsed home and car sit damaged on Chickering Street in Lawrence, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, after a series of gas explosions in several communities north of Boston. Authorities said Leonel Rondon died after the chimney toppled by the exploding house crashed into his car in the driveway. He was rushed to a Boston hospital but pronounced dead there in the evening. (Carl Russo/The Eagle-Tribune via AP)
Firefighters battle a house fire, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, on Herrick Road in North Andover, Mass., one of multiple emergency crews responding to a series of gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Ra Nam, right, with his sons Evan, left, and Tristan, center, wait in a parking lot outside their Colonial Heights neighborhood which was evacuated Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, in Lawrence, Mass., due to fires and explosions triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston. (AP Photo/Phil Marcelo)
In this image take from video provided by WCVB in Boston, firefighters battle a raging house fire in Lawrence, Mass, a suburb of Boston, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Emergency crews responded to what they believe is a series of gas explosions that have damaged homes across three communities north of Boston. (WCVB via AP)
In this image take from video provided by WCVB in Boston, firefighters battle a large structure fire in Lawrence, Mass, a suburb of Boston, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Emergency crews are responding to what they believe is a series of gas explosions that have damaged homes across three communities north of Boston. (WCVB via AP)
Firefighters battle a house fire, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, on Herrick Road in North Andover, Mass., one of multiple emergency crews responding to a series of gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
In this image take from video provided by WCVB in Boston, flames consume the roof of a home in Lawrence, Mass, a suburb of Boston, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. A series of gas explosions killed a teenager, injured at least 10 other people and ignited fires in at least 39 homes in three communities north of Boston, forcing entire neighborhoods to evacuate as crews scrambled to fight the flames and shut off the gas. (WCVB via AP)
In this image take from video provided by WCVB in Boston, flames consume a home in Lawrence, Mass, a suburb of Boston, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Emergency crews are responding to what they believe is a series of gas explosions that have damaged homes across three communities north of Boston. (WCVB via AP)
In this image take from video provided by WCVB in Boston, flames rise from a house in Lawrence, Mass, a suburb of Boston, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Emergency crews are responding to what they believe is a series of gas explosions that have damaged homes across three communities north of Boston. (WCVB via AP)
Police officers man a checkpoint as multiple fire trucks from surrounding communities are staged along a road Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, in Lawrence, Mass. A problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston triggered a series of gas explosions and fires. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Crews work to knock down a fire in Lawrence, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. The company that owns Columbia Gas says its crews are performing safety checks after a series of fires and explosions erupted in three communities north of Boston. Authorities are blaming over-pressurized gas lines and previously told all residents with Columbia Gas service in those areas to evacuate. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP)
People cover their faces to protect themselves from heavy smoke from a fire on Bowdoin Street in Lawrence, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. The company that owns Columbia Gas says its crews are performing safety checks after a series of fires and explosions erupted in three communities north of Boston. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP)
A damaged house on Bowdoin Street in Lawrence Mass., is seen Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. The home was one of multiple houses that went up in flames on Thursday afternoon after gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Lawrence residents stop to take photos of a house on Bowdoin Street in Lawrence Mass., Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. The home was one of multiple houses that went up in flames on Thursday afternoon after gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Fire inspectors talk to the residents of a home that was blown off its foundation on Kingston Street in Lawrence, Mass., Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. Multiple houses were damaged Thursday afternoon from gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Fire inspectors take notes outside a house that was blown off its foundation on Kingston Street in Lawrence, Mass., Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. Multiple houses were damaged Thursday afternoon from gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
A damaged house is cordoned off, Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, on Kingston Street in Lawrence, Mass., one of multiple homes damaged Thursday afternoon from gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
A member of the State Police moves a cone for an emergency vehicle at a road block on Route 114 in North Andover, Mass., at the Lawrence city line, Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. Many roads remain closed after Thursday afternoon gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
A Columbia Gas truck passes through a roadblock as a member of the State Police talks to a pedestrian on Route 114 in North Andover, Mass., at the Lawrence city line, Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. Many roads remain closed after Thursday afternoon gas explosions and fires triggered by a problem with a gas line that feeds homes in several communities north of Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
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