Birthday party likely a lifesaver

It's a birthday Luana Fowers will likely never forget.

Fowers' children hosted a 75th birthday party for their mother at their home in Mountain Green Saturday night. While Fowers was away, her South Weber house exploded.

"I would have been in my house if they hadn't hosted my birthday," she said. "I feel lucky to be alive."

A nearby natural gas pipeline burst Saturday evening and apparently filled the home with gas.

No one was injured in the incident.

"The neighbor called (my childrens' house) and asked if I was in the house because he thought if I was, I'd be dead," Fowers said.

The incident began about 6:15 p.m. when a motorist on 7600 South near 1700 East in South Weber noticed a geyser of dust and debris coming out of the road, said Davis County Sheriff's Capt. Kenny Payne.

He quickly realized that a sinkhole in the road had ruptured a natural gas line. The man got out of his car and was headed to a nearby house to call authorities when the house at 1675 E. 7650 South exploded, Davis County Sheriff's Lt. Brad Wilcox said.

It wasn't until several hours later that crews were able to confirm that Fowers was not at home when the explosion occurred.

In a telephone interview Saturday night, Fowers, who has lived in her house since 1966, sounded as if she was still in shock as she learned from officials that all that was left of her home was her garage. Fowers was not allowed to get near her home Saturday night for safety precautions.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know what I'm going to do at this point. I don't have a clue," she said.

Fowers said she lived with her poodle. Neighbors said they saw the dog running down the street shortly after the explosion.

About 100 homes were evacuated because of the gas leak. Some families were staying with relatives. Others went to the LDS Church's South Weber Second Ward building that was opened for people to take shelter. Between 50 to 70 people were in the church gymnasium by 9 p.m.

By 8:45 p.m., Questar crews were able to shut off the leak.

Hampering efforts were high winds, blowing snow and near white-out conditions. Wilcox said road crews weren't even able to plow the roads out of fear that a spark from the plow might cause another explosion.

After the gas was shut off, crews waited a half-hour and then went door-to-door checking gas levels and relighting pilot lights.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com