On January 17, 2001,

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

stored underground at the Yaggy storage field nearby

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

, leaked into empty

brine Brine (or briny water) is a high-concentration solution of salt (typically sodium chloride or calcium chloride) in water. In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawat ...

caverns and

salt wells A salt well (or brine well) is used to mine salt from caverns or deposits. Water is used as a solution to dissolve the salt or halite deposits so that they can be extracted by pipe to an evaporation process, which results in either a brine or a d ...

, resulting in two

gas explosions Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

in the city of Hutchinson on January 17 and 18.

Background

The city of Hutchinson, Kansas has had a prominent salt mining industry since the 19th century, when salt was discovered in

Reno County Reno County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Hutchinson. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,898. The county is named for Jesse Reno, a general during the Civil War. History ...

in 1887. The primary method to extract salt at the time was pumping water into brine wells, and then evaporating it, leading to the creation of various empty and abandoned brine caverns across the city. The Yaggy storage field, located seven miles northwest of Hutchinson, was developed in the 1980s as an underground propane storage field, with wells drilled into lower parts of the Hutchinson Salt Member. The field was eventually purchased by the

Kansas Gas Service Kansas Gas Service is the largest natural gas distribution company in the U.S. state of Kansas, operating in 82 counties. It is a regulated public utility which serves 634,000 customers in 360 communities, employing 1,000 employees. In addition to ...

(KGas), a subsidiary of Oneok, and repurposed into a natural gas storage field.

Cause

On the morning of January 17, 2001, technicians at the Yaggy storage field noticed a drop in pressure in 16 underground jugs that had been filled with natural gas over the past series of days. KGas traced the drop in pressure to a leak in the S-1 jug since at least January 14. About of natural gas had leaked through layers of fractured dolomite into abandoned brine caverns and salt wells, routing them to the surface and into buildings in downtown Hutchinson.

Timeline

The initial explosion occurred at 10:45 am at the Decor Shop, destroying the building, the neighboring Woody's Furniture Store, and damaging 26 others. The force of the explosion had blown out windows in nearby buildings, although only minor injuries occurred. A gas fire had ignited at the site of the explosion, of which all attempts to extinguish, including disabling the local gas lines, failed. By the evening, several sinkholes and geysers of water and gas reaching up to formed across the eastern side of the city. A day later, on January 18, another explosion in a trailer at the Big Chief Mobile Home Park critically injured two, John and Mary Ann Hahn, both of whom who later died from their injuries.

Response

Initial response to the explosions, according to Holloway, was unprepared, as firefighters were unaware of the cause of the first explosion and failed to extinguish the resulting fire, with officials initially attempting to turn off the local gas lines to the buildings. The

Kansas National Guard The Kansas National Guard, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Kansas. It comprises both the Kansas Army National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard. The Governor of Kansas is Commander-in-Chief of the Ka ...

was called in to help evacuate parts of the city because of the gas leaks. Evacuations included more than 200 families; 191 homes on the east side of Hutchinson, including the residents of the Big Chief Mobile Home Park, and 43 businesses. Employees were evacuated from Underground Vaults & Storage, a salt mine storage location which housed the original film negative of ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' and various documents. The Kansas Gas Service mobilized more than 100 workers to check for leaks, and began drilling operations to vent the gas in the brine caverns. 57 venting wells were installed by KGas across the city. Governor

Bill Graves William Preston Graves (born January 9, 1953) is an American former politician who was the 43rd governor of Kansas from 1995 until 2003. Career Graves was born in Salina, Kansas, to parents who owned a trucking firm. After graduating from Ka ...

directed the

Kansas Geological Survey The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) is a research and service division of the University of Kansas, charged by statute with studying and providing information on the geologic resources of Kansas. The KGS has no regulatory authority and does not ta ...

to postpone out-of-state geological research for the US Army and to redirect their resources to assisting evaluations of the gas leaks and explosions.

Aftermath

Several lawsuits were filed against KGas and its parent company, Oneok, one of which reached the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as t ...

after an appeal from the Reno County District Court, resulting in Oneok being found liable for the incidents but resulted in no damages awarded to the business class plaintiffs, one that resulted in $5 million in damages being awarded to residential class plaintiffs, and another that resulted in an award of $5.25 million to the plaintiffs, an increase from the initial $1.71 million. An unrelated underground gas leak resulted in the explosion of an auto parts store in Hutchinson on February 22, 2025.

References