FAIRFIELD, Ohio —A giant crater was left behind after a lightning strike Monday evening caused an explosion of an underground fuel storage tank near Dixie Highway.
Police said told
WLWT that lightning struck and ignited a 10,000 gallon underground fuel storage tank at the Gas Depot at 4871 Dixie Highway.
The blast left behind a crater 40 feet in diameter by 8 feet deep. Firefighters said there were two customers at the station when the bolt hit, but luckily no one was pumping gas at the time.
"Very loud! Like I said, the concussion when I was sitting there, it threw me back and I looked up and saw as soon as it came up there was an instant puff of black smoke that came up and I knew it was close," said Roger Tucker, who watched from his porch about a half a mile away.
Even seasoned firefighters were wowed after they say lightning hit the fill dome of a 10,000 gallon underground diesel fuel tank at Fairfield's Gas Depot.
"I can tell you in my 45 year career, I have never seen anything like this. Underground storage tanks are put there to reduce the potential for fire," said Fairfield Fire Chief Donald Bennett.
Comment: There seems to be an increase in underground explosions and wildfires recently. As well as apartment building, wood flour mill, industrial plant, transformer, boat, car explosions and the unexplained explosion on a Rhode Island beach.
Could some of these have been 'sparked' by the increase in atmospheric electric discharge events - which in this case manifested as a lightning strike?
Could some of these other incidents be related to increased 'outgassing' as Earth 'opens up' from a build up of methane and other gases from deep below the planet's surface?
See: SOTT Exclusive: Solar System 'grounding':Transformer explosions and electrical anomalies