Las Vegas NowDamage From Propane Explosion 'Into the Millions'

Damage From Propane Explosion 'Into the Millions'

Firefighters gave the public an up close look Monday at the devastation left behind by the massive propane blast over the weekend.

There were a number of fires at the two propane companies. They burned for close to a day.

About 2,000 people were forced to leave their homes and businesses for a one-mile radius around the companies at Craig and Pecos.

An official damage estimate isn't available yet, but it will run well into the millions of dollars.

The exact cause is still under investigation. Although fire investigators say it was touched off by when an employee transferring propane at the ProFlame Incorporated propane farm made a mistake.

North Las Vegas fire crews could only watch and wait for tens of thousands of gallons of propane to burn out. For 21 nervous hours, fire crews wondered if the largest tank of all -- a 30,000-gallon propane tank -- would explode in the midst of the other blasts.

Pieces of the propane tanks were flying through the air. That is the reason the North Las Vegas Fire Department wanted to keep everybody at least a mile from the spot.

The fire spread from the propane company to another one next door.

AmeriGas propane expert Mark Halloway flew in from Houston. His company lost everything. Halloway says flames moved to propane canisters and that started the explosions.

"They just consumed each other. As they spread, they consumed the vehicles and it just became something like that," Hollaway said.

Halloway says it's the worst outcome for a propane company, and there's a name for it.

"Bleavy. It's a boiling liquid vapor explosion. What you have is the metal container ruptures. You have a violent and sudden release of liquid," Halloway explained.

David Vance, AmeriGas sales and service manager, helped design and build the second propane company's plant in 1997.

Although the fire did not start on his property, he's dealing with the most damage.

Vance said, "We are going to go through the debris one at a time and then sort things out and get rid of it."

As the ProFlame next door clears away their damage, AmeriGas has some good news.

Mark Halloway, AmeriGas propane expert, said, "We are actually still in business, believe it or not. With all the devastation you see, our delivery trucks are running today."

AmeriGas is using their Pahrump office to service Las Vegas customers.  It's going to take several to rebuild.

The ProFlame employee will not be charged with anything according to North Las Vegas police. They say it was just human error, not a criminal act.

No one from ProFlame wanted to comment about the explosion.

Send feedback to reporter Edward Lawrence at elawrence@klastv.com