Thank you to all for your support and good wishes for the people of Bozeman. For those who asked about local charities, I've posted some links at the bottom of the diary. Thanks again.
"It’s a crater", is what one of the firefighters said to my brother today at lunch. My brother, a chef, owns a catering business and lunch deli near downtown Bozeman, Montana. Today, his customers included emergency personnel working the scene of a massive explosion that leveled four businesses on Main Street this morning.
More over the fold--
One of those businesses, a fine restaurant called Boodles, now looks like this; it's the "crater" the firefighter was talking about. Just enough of the restaurant's distinctive green façade remained on the left side for me to be able to identify it from the picture.
My brother said it sounded like a bomb went off; he looked out his window just in time to see a piece of a building propelled into the downtown sky a few blocks away. His truck was caked with soot and debris; he said it reminded him of the pictures of ash-coated lower Manhattan after 9/11.
Update 4 Edit: In response to objections from commenters here and here regarding references to 9/11 in this diary, I have removed the quote "Reminds me of 9/11" from the diary title. The comments made me realize (although I should have realized it on my own) that this part of the title was inappropriate and sensationalistic, as well as misrepresenting what my brother actually said. He said that the ash-covered scene reminded him of pictures he saw of Manhattan after the attacks; he did not say this explosion reminded him of the 9/11 attack itself--which my unfortunate choice of title made unclear, to say the least. It was not my intention (nor, I am certain, my brother's) to trivialize the magnitude of the 9/11 tragedy, or to compare that unspeakable crime with this much smaller event which appears to have been an accident. I sincerely apologize for the carelessness of my words, and for the offense they caused. beabea
As I write this, one person is missing and feared dead. That is tragic enough, but had this explosion happened, say, on a Saturday night when Boodles and the Rocking R Bar next door (also destroyed) are full of customers and Main Street is humming with pedestrians and traffic, the carnage would have been unimaginable.
The cause of the explosion is not yet known, but it appears to have been a natural gas leak.
Bozeman's historic Main Street, already hurting in the economic downturn, now has a block that has literally been blown away. The scene is obviously closed off, and business owners and residents from the secured area have to check in for police escort before they can go in to retrieve any belongings. Windows in store fronts and walk-up apartments were blown out blocks away from the blast. Shelters are available for those whose homes are damaged or destroyed; you can’t stay in a windowless place when the forecast low for tomorrow is 9º F and the high only 29º. Preventing the freezing and bursting of water pipes in buildings now without heat, is another concern that has to be addressed; more snow is expected in the coming days as well. The American Red Cross has set up an incident center near the affected area.
If you would like to help, please give to the American Red Cross here.
Not to turn this tragic story into a political issue, but for those who think spending on municipal services and emergency response equipment and training, is "wasteful"; that private enterprise does everything better, so let’s starve that socialistic menace called "government"...
I hope it won’t take part of those people's town blowing up, to make them realize the folly of their thinking.
P.S. If you haven't reviewed this safety information recently, here's what to do (and what NOT to do) if you smell natural gas.
Update: The Rec List??! Thank you everybody! Thank you for helping bring attention to this story, and its many lessons: how suddenly tragedy can strike, the importance of neighbor helping neighbor, how much we need well-funded, well-run services of a kind that can only be provided by the public sector, and how we'd better make sure we have these things in place before tragedy strikes.
I'm emailing this to my family in Bozeman so they can pass it around. While I don't live in Bozeman myself, I think I can safely say on behalf of those who do: "Thank you to the Daily Kos community for your support and good wishes".
Update 2: Links to local charities; here's what I found so far. Thank you.
Red Cross of Montana
Greater Gallatin United Way
If you are able to offer accomodations to people who have been displaced by the explosion, here's who to contact.
You can also follow this on Twitter.
Update 3:
Here is a picture my brother took a few blocks from the scene. You can see the smoke from the fire that is still burning as of 9 pm local time; apparently they are trying to burn off the leaked gas. My brother said downtown is on "lockdown", with National Guard troops on duty there.
Photo gallery and video footage from the local news station here.
A sad before and after picture. Boodles was one of Bozeman's finest restaurants, and is fondly remembered by a number of commenters here (especially Huacareta, who got engaged there and it's a great story). And apparently AntonBursch got engaged there as well. Makes you realize even more, what was lost today.