Explosion destroys Pleasant Grove home; no one injured

PLEASANT GROVE — Rubble is all that is left of a house at 415 S. 100 East.

An explosion, possibly from natural gas, destroyed the Pleasant Grove home Thursday night and caused minor damage to at least four nearby homes and businesses. No injuries were reported.

Daryl Peterson, who lives next door, had just closed his shutters and sat down at his computer when he heard and felt the blast.

"It shook just like a bomb going off," he said. "I've been in the military, and for a second, I thought I was back."

Peterson told his son to grab his mother and sister, and they all got out of their home quickly. Once outside, he said, they could smell gas and could hear it leaking from where the house next door had stood just moments earlier.

"You don't think that's going to happen," he said.

Police and fire crews were initially unsure whether anyone was inside the house when it exploded, until they searched through the rubble and talked to neighbors.

"We still don't know what caused the explosion, but there was no indication anyone was inside," said Pleasant Grove Police Capt. Michael Smith.

About 10:40 p.m., emergency crews shut down all engines and lights and asked everyone to be quiet while they queried over a loudspeaker if anyone was trapped in the rubble and listened intently for any noise. Smith said it was simply done as a precaution, even though the homeowner had indicated no one should have been inside the house.

Peterson said a brother and sister had recently lived in the house, but the woman died a few months ago, and the elderly brother had moved out. The house had undergone some recent renovations, however, as the owner may have been trying to sell it, Peterson said.

The 7:40 p.m. explosion was felt for miles. Pleasant Grove Fire Marshal Steven Brande heard the explosion at his home nearly three miles away.

"I went out on my deck and turned on my radio expecting to get a call, and two minutes later, I did," he said.

"I was just putting the kids down to bed when I heard the noise," added neighbor David Lisonbee. "The house shook for about three or four seconds."

Lisonbee said he and his family ran outside to see what had happened. "I looked over my fence, and I couldn't see the Sunbot house," he said, referring to the former occupants' last name.