Business Owners Clean Up After Tulsa Gas Line Explosion

Oklahoma Natural Gas says it could take crews up to a week to get things back to normal after a gas line explosion near 21st and Memorial.

ONG crews worked throughout the day Friday, and business owners worked to clean up.

"It was really, really loud,” Reshan Koralage recalled. He was inside Hot Box Tulsa during the explosion.

“The worst, worst sound you've ever heard. Loudest sound I've ever heard. Sounded like a plane crashing,” Basketcase Disc Golf employee Greg Wilder said.

Surveillance video shows employees and customers at the strip mall along Memorial went running for safety.

"This whole place was like brown with dust and gas,” Wilder said.

Now, that dust is being swept away as employees clean up, alongside the ONG crews. ONG says it's not clear how long it'll take to get the work done.

"That's still under investigation. It could be a week. We don't really know. But it is a big clean up,” ONG spokesperson Cherokee Ballard said.

Tulsa Police initially said a truck hit the gas line. But ONG isn't so sure, and is working to find out exactly what happened.

"That is still part of what we're looking into. And we don't have that information at this point,” Ballard said.

Business owners say there is still a lingering smell in the air.

"You can even taste it. It smells so bad. So we’re opening the doors and windows. Hopefully that will vent out for safety,” Royal Insurance owner Nora Sanchez said.

Business owners encourage customers to continue shopping at the strip mall. They can still get to the shops from 21st Street.

"As long as everyone's safe, that's the main concern,” Koralage said.

While some customers are without natural gas Friday, all the power is back on in the area. At its peak, more than 2,000 customers were without power Thursday.