http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/03/05/news/state/20-bozeman.txt

By BRETT FRENCH
Of The Gazette Staff

UPDATE 7:10 p.m. :
BOZEMAN - One person is still unaccounted for after a natural gas explosion ripped a giant crater in the 200 block of East Main Street shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday.

Intense heat and structural damage prevented firefighters from searching the blast scene, city officials said, and several hours passed before natural gas could be cut to the area.

There is so much damage there and so much fire we cannot get in and do the type of searches that we do, said Chuck Winn, Bozeman assistant city manager. If you havent seen this, I cannot describe with it looks like. Ive worked public safety for 24 years in this city and this is the worst catastrophe Ive worked.

City officials said four businesses were destroyed Boodles restaurant and bar, the Rocking R Bar, the Montana Trails Gallery and the American Legion bar. A massive crater has opened were Boodles once was. Bricks and wood from the blast landed two blocks away and littered the parking lot of Bozeman City Hall, where Winn said light fixtures broke off the ceiling and cracks had appeared in the walls.

Many windows in downtown businesses were shattered.

I dont want to overstate it, but it literally looks like a bomb went off in downtown Bozeman, Winn said.

No injuries were reported, but large area of downtown was evacuated as a precaution. At about 1 p.m., students from Hawthorne Elementary School were told to leave the building because of poor air quality. The wind had shifted and smoke was coming in through the vents. The students and walked to the public library where they waited for parents to pick them up.

Winn said the gas lines in the 200 block of East Bozeman, nearly a century old, dont have modern shutoff valves and cannot be readily closed. Northwestern Energy had to excavate downtown alleys to reach a place were the gas could be stopped.

No estimate of the damage has been reported. Many buildings in the historic downtown were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and building inspectors were checking surrounding structures to ensure they are sound.

Mollie McKiernan, 30, was scraping the snow off her car before driving to work when she heard the explosion a half block away. The concussion slammed her chest, making her gasp for air, she said. As chunks of nail-studded 2x4s, bricks and insulation rained from the sky, she dove into her vehicle.

I had no idea what was going on, she said, and thought an airplane might have crashed. Fireworks came from downed power lines, she said.

Her apartment, above the Nemelka and Restum law offices at 234 E. Mendenhall, may not be habitable. Windows were blown out and the ceiling in the law offices sagged.

Colin Craig was just sitting down to have breakfast at Sobys restaurant in the Bozeman Hotel when the building shook and the lights went out. He thought a vehicle had struck the building, which is just east of the blast zone.

Hurrying into the street, Craig saw the smoke and debris, ran up and looked to see if anyone was injured.

I smelled gas so I didnt stay around, obviously, he said. The building was completely flattened.

Vehicles parked in front of the building had been shoved into the middle of the street from the blast.

Business owners and downtown residents crowded a meeting room on the third floor of the Gallatin County Courthouse in the afternoon to hear from officials.

They were told to gather at the citys downtown fire hall at 7 p.m., when they would be escorted to their businesses to assess the damage and retrieve belongings and cars.

People expressed concern that without gas to the area, waterlines would freeze and burst, adding to the damage. Others questioned if turning the gas back on might lead to another blast. But city and power officials assured the crowd that everything would be done to ensure that no additional damage would occur.

Jim Lynch, director of the Montana Department of Transportation, said he walked to the edge of where the blast occurred and had one word to describe the scene, Gone.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who flew with some legislators from Helena to Bozeman, said the state is standing by with any assistance needed.

We understand this isnt going to be over in 24 hours, Gov. Schweitzer said.