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Broken Natural Gas Line Caused Bozeman Explosion

By Beacon Staff

BOZEMAN – A separation in a natural gas line behind the Montana Trails Gallery caused an explosion in downtown Bozeman last week that leveled four buildings and killed a woman who worked at the gallery, officials said.

Bozeman Fire Chief Jason Shrauger said Friday that the leak occurred in an underground service line between the main gas line and the meter for Montana Trails Gallery.

“The fire investigation team has determined that a leak occurred, prior to the explosion, in NorthWestern Energy’s underground natural gas service line behind Montana Trails Gallery,” Shrauger said in a statement. “The leak allowed natural gas to migrate through the soil under the hard surfaces of the alley and enter buildings at an undetermined location. The cause of the failure of the service line has not yet been determined.”

Shrauger said there were several potential ignition sources in the buildings.

The investigation was conducted by the Bozeman Fire Department and the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. It was complete Thursday but city officials declined to release the report before getting permission from a District Court judge.

In the order requesting release of the statement, Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert said no criminal activity was suspected with regard to the explosion and fire.

NorthWestern Energy said the company has not has a chance to fully review the report, but the company has been working with investigators to determine the cause of the March 5 blast.

The explosion crumbled four buildings, destroying Boodles restaurant, Montana Trails Gallery, LillyLu’s children’s store, Tolstedt Architects and the American Legion Hall. Several other businesses were suffered significant damage, including the Rocking R Bar, the Pickle Barrel restaurant inside the Rocking R, the Rocky Mountain Rug Gallery and Starky’s Authentic Delicatessen.

Tara Reistad Bowman, 36, died in the explosion.

“Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family and friends of Tara Bowman,” NorthWestern President and CEO Bob Rowe said in a statement. “Her loss will be felt throughout the Bozeman community. Our corporate family also wants others who were affected by the explosion to know you are in our thoughts and prayers.

“We will continue to work side-by-side with the affected businesses and the city of Bozeman to restore the downtown area to good economic health as soon as possible,” Rowe said.

The service line has not been fully excavated and will be sent to a lab for further testing to determine what caused the break, officials said.

NorthWestern investigators have not examined the gas lines and appliances inside the businesses involved because the fire was still being investigated. The utility plans to finish its investigation after getting permission from property owners.

Earlier, NorthWestern spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch said the utility did not receive any reports of natural gas odors in the 48 hours preceding the explosion.

Rowe echoed that on Friday.

“We checked our records going back for several days … there were no calls to 911,” Rowe said.