Not every day, someone in Idaho hears a big boom, and the ground shakes beneath their feet. The residents of Middleton experienced what happens when someone inadvertently hits a gas line. Emergency response workers and law enforcement rushed to the scene Thursday after the gas line was penetrated.

Thankfully, no one was hurt; it could've been much worse. No one lost their homes or suffered severe injuries. Canyon County officials told us this morning that the explosion was near four schools and thousands of residential homes. County officials coordinated their response by securing the area, organizing traffic out of the dangerous place, and fixing the gas line. 

Emergency officials at the city, county, state, and federal levels always train to be prepared for a natural or manmade disaster. We rarely saw those forces in action on Thursday.

Middleton has a population of just over 10,000 Idahoans. ABC News detailed the gas line and how it happened. The ruptured line is part of an interstate pipeline that carries natural gas through several states in the northwestern U.S. owned by the Williams Companies, a natural gas distributor. The pipeline had about 750 pounds of pressure per square inch (53 kilograms per square centimeter), so authorities evacuated an area of about 4 square miles (10.4 square kilometers) surrounding the break, Hart said, including the entire town of Middleton.

Dangers Of Digging in Idaho

Intermountain Gas has a page devoted to keeping you safe when digging in your backyard or place of business. You can access that information here. You can always call 811 for more information.

Thank you to all of our first responders for their service Thursday and every day.