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Propane Explosions Rock Toronto

By CBS News

Thousands evacuated after explosions, fire engulf a propane facility in northwest Toronto Propane Explosions Rock Toronto

Published: Sun, August 10, 2008 - 10:55 am Last Updated: Mon, August 11, 2008 - 3:14 pm

Thousands of people in an entire section of Toronto's north end were evacuated early on Sunday after a series of explosions at a propane facility.

Police ordered the immediate evacuation of residents within a one mile radius of the Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases in the Keele and Wilson area of northwest Toronto following the 3:50 a.m. EDT (0750 GMT) blast.

Police said there were only minor injuries, but firefighters were still battling blazes hours later.

A no-fly zone was ordered above the site of the explosion, and the city's busiest highways were ordered shut, snarling traffic for travelers unable to
exit Highways 401 and 400.

Witnesses said they were awakened by a thunderous explosion and saw the sky light up in the glow of an enormous fireball before it turned black with billowing smoke.

Some residents said the blast was so forceful they felt their homes rock as though they had been struck by an earthquake.

Windows were blown out and flash fires continued to put homes at risk.

Police brought in buses to take residents out of the area.

While police couldn't immediately identify how many people would be affected by the evacuation request, census data of that part of Toronto
suggests that there could be as many 12,500 people and 5,300 private dwellings in the one mile area around the explosion.