Snow on gas line causes Donner Summit home to explode
By Maneeza Iqbal, News 10
DONNER SUMMIT — A Serene Lakes home exploded after a gas leak Friday around 10:30pm.
The explosion demolished the home and damaged a home next door, said Truckee Fire Protection District spokesperson Gene Welch.
The home was unoccupied and no injuries were reported.
Officials in the area have identified 21 homes with significant amounts of gas around them, Welch said. The homes were identified after high snow banks cut power to the area. Before restoring power, crews checked the homes for gas leaks.
Unfortunately, many of the vacation home residents were waiting for it to happen because of the record amounts of snowfall.
You would think that the article might tell readers how the snow on a gas line caused the explosion so that others might not have the same thing happen to them. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Does that not seem reasonable?
If you read the entire article or watch the newsreel, it says the weight of the snow on the lines cause them to snap where they meet the propane tanks. So, the prevention would be do not use propane in your home if you are in a big snow region…
This is an old, old problem that happens everytime we get a little snow! Anyone with a propane tank should kmow this can happen and should take measures to protect the connection. I wonder if the propane companies sent out any winter precautions with the bill.