A huge explosion in Westminster — a town just north of Denver, Colorado — destroyed at least two houses and damaged several others in a residential neighborhood.
As many as 75 emergency responders were on the scene of what appears to have been an explosion caused by a natural gas leak.
Speaking to the press, Westminster Fire Department spokeswoman Diana Wilson explained that they received 911 calls about the explosion at 11:35 am, Mountain Standard Time.
Wilson said that four houses were damaged, two experiencing extensive destruction.
Courtney VanMarter, a Westminster firefighter, was among first responders to the scene in the normally quiet neighborhood. She explained that one house was leveled and a good deal of broken glass from blown out windows covered lawns and sidewalks.
Describing the worst of the damage, VanMarter said that “truly there is not a whole lot left in this house. It’s quite shocking.”
The huge explosion in the Westminster neighborhood seems to have also damaged at least four or five other homes.
Two people were injured, one a police officer hurt by blown out window glass. The other was an energy service worker who was on an unrelated repair assignment in the neighborhood. Neither are reported to have serious injury.
As emergency calls came in from people in the area about the huge explosion, at least four residential blocks were evacuated as a precaution. Once gas lines were determined to be safe residents were allowed to return to their homes safely.
Several people have been, at the time of writing, described as unaccounted for. Special search crews will be called in to sift through debris of the huge explosion in Westminster to determine if any of these individuals were inside at the time.
[Image via 7 News Denver]
