The explosion and fire in Auburn Hills, Mich., created a crater, burned trees and damaged nearby trucks. Source: Auburn Hills Police Department |
Consumers Energy Co. is working with Michigan regulators to determine the cause of a gas transmission line explosion and fire that created a crater and damaged property near Detroit.
Consumers Energy's gas control department registered a drop in pressure on the transmission system northwest of Detroit shortly before 10 p.m. ET on Nov. 20. A release of gas on a 22-inch steel transmission line resulted in an explosion and fire before Consumers Energy was able to stop the flow of gas.
The company isolated a 7-mile section of the affected line, and the fire burned itself out shortly after 11 p.m. There were no injuries and no customers lost service as a result of the incident, but the explosion and fire did affect the Oakland County, Mich., 911 call systems.
The affected area is mostly undeveloped, according to Consumers Energy spokeswoman Debra Dodd. However, there is now a large hole that will need to be filled in, a number of nearby trees were burned during the fire, and some flatbed trailers and one truck were affected by the heat of the fire, according to Dodd.
"We are very early in the investigation stages," Dodd said in a Nov. 22 email. "At this time, we are still working to make the rupture area safe so we can get into the hole and remove the section of affected main for metallurgical and other testing. We need to shore up the site as the soil is very loose and shifting. We anticipate being able to obtain the section of pipe in the next day so it can be sent for this testing."
Consumers Energy is working with the Michigan Public Service Commission to investigate the incident's cause, which the company estimates will take about a month to determine.

