Downed power line sparks fire and gas leak, forces evacuations

By Terra Konieczny

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    DUBUQUE, Iowa (KWWL) — A chaotic scene unfolded Sunday afternoon in Dubuque after a power line fell onto a parked car, igniting it in flames and eventually leading to a natural gas leak that forced several families to evacuate their homes.

The Dubuque Fire Department says they were called to the 600 block of University Avenue around 11:43 a.m. for reports of a car fire. By the time firefighters arrived, the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames, with a live power line on the car.

“I heard a popping noise, then my electricity went out,” said Alison Schulz, who lives across the street and witnessed the fire break out.

The Dubuque Fire Department said they do not know the cause of why the line fell, but Schulz believes she may have seen what triggered it—metallic balloons tangled in the line just before the sparks started flying.

“I came out to see what it was, and there were balloons floating across the street, and a couple up in my tree, and then some on the wire,” she said.

Schulz says she heard what sounded like balloons popping before the power line came down.

“I didn’t really react in the beginning too much. I was like, ‘Oh great, my power is going to be out. It’s probably going to go out again next time a balloon pops.’ Like, that’s probably what’s going to happen,” she said. “If I would’ve known all this was going to happen, I probably would have called 911 right away.”

Because the power line was still live, crews had to wait for Alliant Energy to shut off electricity before they could safely extinguish the blaze.

Once the flames were out, fire crews noticed smoke rising from a nearby storm sewer. Investigators used gas monitors and detected the presence of methane. The fire department says that led to an evacuation of nearby homes out of caution.

“What’s going on? Do you know yet? Do you know yet?” Schulz recalled hearing from neighbors throughout the day. “I had another neighbor who was driving down here every so often to see if they could come home yet.”

According to Dubuque Fire officials, Black Hills Energy later identified a damaged underground gas service line. They believe it was impacted by the fire, causing the active gas leak.

Schulz says she noticed a strong gas smell outside her home before her family evacuated around 1 p.m. She and her four children weren’t able to return until nearly 9 p.m.

“I went to come pick up clothes for my kids for school, and I asked the worker, and that’s how I knew I could come back,” she said.

As of Monday, parts of University Avenue and Walnut remain closed while crews continue repairing the damaged gas line. Again, the fire department said they still don’t know exactly what caused the line to fall.

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