“Ground shook, we just sat there, and, you know, my wife’s like, what was that? And I said, I think that was an explosion,” Tracey Riney said.
LAKE DALLAS, Texas — Nearly 24 hours after a home exploded in Lake Dallas, investigators remained on scene Friday working to determine what caused the blast.
Additional recorded on Friday afternoon shows the devastation left behind. Next to the rubble, you can see a washer and dryer that were charred and destroyed. Personal belongings were burned and scattered across the property, while piles of debris, including torn pieces of drywall, were left strewn outside.
“We heard a loud boom,” Tracey Riney said. “Ground shook, we just sat there, and, you know, my wife’s like, ‘what was that?’ And I said, I think that was an explosion.”
Riney said he grabbed his phone and rushed toward the scene, capturing video of the house on fire, which he said appeared to implode. Lake Cities firefighters responded and quickly called for mutual aid, along with medical assistance. When crews arrived, they found neighbors surrounding a woman who had been pulled from the wreckage. She was later taken to a hospital by helicopter. Her condition has not been released.
“It just looks like, almost like a warzone,” resident Ivan Alvarez said.
Alvarez said his family also felt the blast. Video recorded from his sister’s backyard shows the moment the explosion shook their home.
“It felt like an earthquake,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said his family is among several in the neighborhood who have been displaced.
“They told us we couldn’t come back, and so we’ve been staying at a hotel,” Alvarez said.
Atmos Energy crews were at the scene on Friday, conducting tests throughout the area as part of the ongoing investigation. Officials said natural gas service in the area has been shut off. Crews from the Texas Railroad Commission were also on scene. Witnesses say they are shocked that no one died in the blast after rushing to the house and seeing the extensive damage, fire and scattered debris all concentrated around the interior of the home.
“I am very surprised. Yeah. Yeah, I’d like to talk to the guy that rescued her,” Riney said.
For neighbors who witnessed the explosion, the biggest question remains how anyone survived. Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies across North Texas are keeping intersections around Moseley Street blocked off during the ongoing investigation. Atmos Energy has carved out a week, according to one of the deputies who expects to work the scene around the clock throughout the weekend.