No Injuries as Gas Line Blasts Crater in Oklahoma Road

PIEDMONT, Okla. (AP) — A natural gas line explosion in a rural area northwest of Oklahoma City left a massive crater in a roadway, but caused no injuries, officials said Thursday.

The line, owned by Denver-based DCP Midstream, exploded about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in Piedmont under a road marking the Kingfisher-Canadian County lines and left a crater about 35 feet (11 meters) wide by 20 feet (6 meters) long, according to Kingfisher County Emergency Management Director Steve Loftis.

“It’s totally impassable,” Loftis said of the two-lane road. “It blew chunks everywhere … asphalt, dirt.”

The cause of the blast was not immediately known, DCP Midstream spokesperson Jeannette Alberg said in a statement. She said smoke was expected to linger Thursday from nearby hay bales that were caught on fire.

“We are continuing to work with local emergency response to address the event and are in the process of assessing the impacts of the event and conducting an investigation,” the statement said.