SAN ANTONIO – All but five households on Preston Hollow Drive are able to return home after multiple explosions in the North Side neighborhood, District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte told KSAT on Wednesday.
This comes just more than 24 hours after two homes on that street exploded. In total, five people were injured. As of Wednesday, three are still in critical condition.
“We want to get them back into their homes as soon as possible,” Whyte said in a midday interview with KSAT. “We’ll do that as soon as the road is deemed safe.”
Investigators believe a “natural gas buildup” caused the explosions and fires.
This all started in the early evening on Tuesday. Crews with the San Antonio Fire Department responded to the initial fire around 6 p.m. in the 15000 block of Preston Hollow Drive, near Thousand Oaks Drive.
Around 8:30 p.m., however, KSAT crews heard a loud “boom” and saw flames shooting out of a second home nearby.
In all, 10 homes along Preston Hollow Drive were evacuated following the explosions, the fire chief told KSAT on Tuesday night.
A spokesperson with CPS Energy confirmed to KSAT on Wednesday that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into the explosions.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the utility said its unit has “connected with more than two dozen residents.” Any additional impacted CPS Energy customers are encouraged to call 210-353-2783.
If anyone thinks they smell gas in their homes, the spokesperson with CPS Energy said residents should leave their house immediately and call the utility at 210-353-HELP (4357) or 911.
More coverage of this story on KSAT.com: