Green flames shoot out of a manhole at Texas Tech University.
The power started to come back on Thursday at the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock several hours after an explosion inside a maintenance hole set off fires and power outages, leading school officials to issue evacuation orders for several buildings and cancel classes for the rest of the week, university police said.
The explosion happened Wednesday evening at the Engineering Key section of campus, which was evacuated.
"At this moment, I am filled with a great sense of gratitude and thanks. Gratitude that no one has been injured during this incident and thanks for the extraordinary support that we have received from so many," said Texas Tech University President Lawrence Schovanec on Thursday.
Students were advised Thursday to avoid the area until further notice.
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“I heard an explosion and then saw a smoke ring, almost like a cartoon or something,” doctoral degree student Robert Gauthreaux III told KCBD-TV. “It traveled about 200 feet in the air.”
Gauthreaux said he went inside the architecture building, which had lost power. He and others tried to help someone who was trapped in an elevator.
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Power was being shut down to the entire campus while repairs were underway, said Caitlynn Jeffries, a spokesperson for the university’s police department. She asked that all public and unofficial personnel avoid campus.
“You can go ahead and go home for spring break. We are closing school down for the next couple days,” Jeffries said at a news media briefing.
Firefighters responded to campus about 7 p.m. for a possible gas leak, Lubbock Fire Rescue Capt. Jon Tunnell said at the briefing. They found “multiple manhole covers with active fire and smoke issuing from them,” he said.
No injuries were reported, Tunnell said.
An alert from the university sent to the campus community before the news conference had described the explosion as occurring at a substation.
Videos circulating on social media and TV stations showed a heavy presence of firefighters on campus and green and yellow flames and smoke coming out of at least one maintenance hole cover.
It wasn’t clear what might have caused the explosion.
Texas Tech has more than 40,000 students and is located on 1,800 acres in West Texas.
