Deadly gas pipeline blast, fire felt “like an atomic bomb went off”

Junction City, Ky. — A massive explosion rocked an area of Lincoln County, Kentucky early Thursday morning, leaving at least one person dead, reports CBS Lexington affiliate WKYT-TV.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said the blast occurred in the Moreland community near Junction City and Hustonville.

The Lincoln County Coroner’s Office confirmed that at least one person was killed.

Several structures were on fire in the area of the Indian Camp Trailer Park.

Emergency managers said a ruptured gas line caused the explosion.

Crews were able to shut off the gas.

People were being evacuated within a mile radius of the explosion. A local church was providing shelter to some of those affected.

“It was impressive. It’s tragic. We hope it doesn’t get worse,” Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Don Gilliam said.

Viewers in several counties reported seeing the fire, including people in the Lexington metropolitan area.

One evacuee told WKYT, “It woke us up and it was just a big roar and fire going all the way up in the sky as far as you could see. Our windows were shaking really bad and you could see the ground just moving and tumbling and rolling. Then we got to feeling the heat from this fire, so we got in our vehicle to get away from it.”

Another told the station, “It was like an atomic bomb went off, basically.”

WKYT Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey says the fire was so large it showed up on radar: