Gas line explodes in West Virginia, homes burn, freeway damaged

Gas line explodes in West Virginia, homes burn, freeway damaged by Kari Huus, December 11, 2012, NBC News
A gas line explosion rocked the town of Sissonville, W.Va., Tuesday, setting off an inferno that burned multiple homes, damaged and closed a portion of the freeway, and knocked out power and phone lines to some residents — but remarkably, took no lives. … Flames shot some 100 feet in the air and hopped the main north-south arterial Interstate 77, as emergency responders scrambled to cap the ruptured gas line — a 20-inch transmission line owned by Columbia Gas — and bring the blaze under control. The blaze destroyed four homes and damaged at least five others, WSAZ-TV, the NBC station in Huntington, W. Va. reported, citing county officials.
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Columbia Gas confirmed that one of its transmission lines was the source of the explosion. … For residents who lost their homes or could not get home, Aldersgate Methodist Church in Sissonville opened as a shelter for the night, according to Metro 911, an emergency website provided by the county’s emergency responders.