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Explosive Picture Captures Moment Fire Goes Shooting Through Line of Manhole Covers in Downtown Street

Jan. 29, 2013 9:07am Liz Klimas

An electrical fire underground Sunday evening sent pillars of flames shooting in a line down a street in Omaha, Neb., and left thousands without power.

As of late Monday, power had been restored to all but four of the more than 2,000 customers impacted by the fire in Omaha’s downtown, according to WOWT. But an image snapped at a nearby apartment is sure to remain burned in residents’ minds.

This photo posted on Reddit and reported on by Gawker shows at least six giant columns of fire that appear to be taller than the cars on the street coming up out of the manholes. KPTM reported locals saying they heard a loud boom associated with the explosion.

Underground Electrical Fire in Omaha Causes Fire to Explode Out of Manholes

(Photo: Imgur)

WOWT reported Omaha Public Power District saying a transformer blew early Sunday evening causing the underground explosions. The power company is investigating what might have prompted the fire, which was extinguished within a few hours, in the first place.

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Comments (43)

Budrow
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 6:48pm
Two days have passed and still no real explanation of this event!!!

Oh well – WHY DOES IT MATTER?

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- HellAndBack
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:40pm
  Why don’t we just make some youtube videos of “How to Cripple American neighborhoods”. This IS NOT news until the answers are discovered. Until then it is HYPE and we aren’t the only ones following these stories.
  
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- freightliner1160
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 6:57am
  There is a lot of white people living in Omaha. Maybe Obama is trying to blow up the streets.
  
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snowflake220
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 5:52pm
That’s really strange because in Sioux Falls, SD the same thing happened just this past week. A fire underground with the wiring caused manholes to explode in the air too. Wonder if it is just a coincident!

http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/sioux-falls-power-restoration-timeline-unknown/?id=142980

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Anadara
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:59pm
Man! …. I gotta lay off the beans and cabbage.

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Moralitygone
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:48pm
Oddly enough the same thing happened in downtown Sioux Falls SD this past weekend. Just a few hours from Omaha.

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- snowflake220
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 5:54pm
  I just posted the link to the story about Sioux Falls, SD having the same thing happen. Seems strange that all at once two major towns near each other have the same type of accident.
  
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- Moralitygone
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 2:31pm
  I agree Snowflake
  
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BSdetector
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:38pm
Looks like warren buffet summoning his master in the white house.

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DAYWATCHER
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 12:51pm
Ok.. the sewer explodes and that takes what all of three seconds to occur… and it was such a beautiful day that this person just happen to be taking a picture of that exact block…

So…. Is it just me or does this not add up?

Question everything.

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- Duey2000
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:12pm
  The fire took a little bit longer to extinguish. If you would have read after the picture it stated that the fire took a couple of hours to put out after the initial explosion. I live here in Omaha. Trust me. It happened.
  
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- BasketFullOfPuppies
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:55pm
  Ever heard of webcams? That’s just one possibility.
  
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- izzy1127
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 3:14pm
  Seriously Day, you didn’t realize still pics can come from video? Living a few decades in the past I guess……..
  
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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 12:26pm
Satan 1 must have been doing a flyby on his way to California. Notice it was in NY just before Sandy hit and then returned. It flew Louisiana and 2,000 birds fell from the sky, 10s of 1,000s of fish washed up on the shore. Rats and flies appear in his presence in the oddest of places. A devastating storm is developing in Tenn along his flight path today. Children are being mass murdered in their schools as his agenda to disarm America begins. Everywhere you look.

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Buddynoel
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 12:07pm
Cousin Eddie cleaning out the RV toilet once again.

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- HellAndBack
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:42pm
  Lmmfao!!!!!!
  
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zoro51
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 11:45am
hmmm BLUE DARTS???

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BengalTigger
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 11:20am
What fire? It looks to me as though street lights are reflecting off the wet street. Notice how there is a street light directly above each glow?

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Marklins
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 11:01am
You right wing nuts have it all wrong. Of course it was George Bush. ; )

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Gargent_Furball
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:59am
Opps better raise the utility tax,

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Gargent_Furball
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:58am
OOPs Better raise TH UTITLY tAX.

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Caniac Steve
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:23am
must have been a methane gas leak from te old stock yards complex..Or the Omaha tourist board was looking for a new way to get people to come visit ..LOL

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- Duey2000
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:11pm
  No, there have been a rash of copper thieves here in Omaha who have been stealing everything from light poles to air conditioners. They believe that somebody stole copper wiring from the electrical grid in the sewer and it caused an electrical vault to explode. It was quite an impressive explosion apparently…
  
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Rafterc4
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:13am
Nice way to finish the annual 4th of July Parade.

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dont_drive_slow_in_the_left_lane_obliviot
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:02am
i told him “don’t light that match”, but no, genius-boy says “don’t worry I got this”.

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banjarmon
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:53am
Where are the Hot dogs and marshmallows?

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Slowman101
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:50am
Someone ignited all the hot air and gas from the Libs and Democrats.

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- Jim in Houston
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 1:46pm
  No where near big enough explosion for that.
  
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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:47am
.
Hey kids go get Dad’s gas can wait for a light rain shower, pour 5 gallons of gas down the storm drain in front of your house, then wait 2-3 minutes, then throw a match and stand back………

I guarantee you a better fire show than that. Be careful, I never thought my eye brows would grow back……

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- truthnstuff
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:42am
  I don’t think we can allow such lunacy t go any further. If it saves just one life, it will be worth it. BAN matches now!
  
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MCON29
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:34am
Explosive picture? Dont they mean EPIC?

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ozchambers
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:17am
So when does this picture explode?

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- chips1
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 8:37pm
  Here kid. Pull my finger.
  
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SamIamTwo
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:14am
Seriously, is the infrastructure that bad or was some mad man at the switch/putter, eh?

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DZ-015
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:13am
Mega fart ignition.

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- OhioRifleman
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 12:41pm
  SLEAZY HIPPO must have used the toilet down the road, and the poor schlub electric workers accidentally discharged a transformer, which set this off.
  
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:12am
Well, at least I know where my chili beans went to…too much hot sauce…

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- RightThinking1
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:22am
  Note to self: Worry less about fracking, more about Snow’s dietary habits.
  Followup: Consider plumbing Snow into the natural gas distribution system
  
  I am reminded of a scene in…, uh, Hud, I think, where Paul Newman takes a long swig on a bottle of beer, then belches and says, “Ahhhh…., natural gas!”
  
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- OhioRifleman
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 12:43pm
  If that’s what you do with chilli beans, I don’t wanna be in the same state as ye when you prepare spicy meatballs or burritos.
  
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term limits for congress
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:10am
Glad they clarified. Otherwise, I would have thought a Chevy Volt was speeding down the street.

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