Live coverage: UI Hospital treating multiple patients following explosion in Marengo - KCCI Des Moines

EIGHT NEWS. AND GOOD AFTERNOON. I’M JAMES STRATTON CUTTING INTO PROGRAMING RIGHT NOW TO BRING YOU BREAKING NEWS. AN APPARENT LARGE EXPLOSION AND FIRE IN MARENGO, IOWA, LOCATED ABOUT 90 MINUTES EAST OF THE METRO IOWA COUNTY. OUR BEAU BOWMAN JUST GOT TO THE SCENE. BODE TELL US WHAT YOU’RE SEEING THERE. WELL, JAMES, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS NOW AND IT’S STILL A VERY ACTIVE SCENE. THEY’VE GOT US STAGE QUITE A BIT AWAY FROM THE FIRE GOING ON. YOU CAN SEE THE FLAME OR THE SMOKE JUST BILLOWING OUT FROM THAT BUILDING ACROSS THAT CORNFIELD. THERE. A LOT OF VERY HEAVY FIRE TRUCK PRESENCE HERE. OF COURSE, THERE’S A LOT OF POLICE, JUST ALL OF THOSE LIGHTS BLINKING. YOU CAN SEE HOW BIG OF A DEAL THIS IS. THE WIND IS WE’RE ON THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN AND THE WIND IS BLOWING THIS OVER THE REST OF THE TOWN OF MARENGO. THE CITY DID RELEASE A FEW MESSAGES ON SOCIAL MEDIA TELLING PEOPLE WHERE THEY NEED TO EVACUATE AND TO STAY INSIDE. IF YOU’RE INSIDE THIS, THE CITY OF MARENGO, AGAIN, WE’RE ABOUT A HALF MILE EAST OF TOWN. AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE PLUMES OF SMOKE JUST BILLOWING UP FROM THAT FROM THAT SITUATION OVER THERE. AGAIN, THIS IS IN MARENGO. IT HAPPENED AT ABOUT 1115. WE’RE ON AWARE OF ANY INJURIES AT THIS POINT. BUT AS WE WERE ON OUR WAY INTO TOWN, WE DID SEE AN AMBULANCE HEADED BACK TOWARD INTERSTATE 80. THERE, HEADED SOUTH WITH THEIR SIRENS ON AND MOVING PRETTY FAST. SO WHAT WE’RE GOING TO LEARN MORE INFORMATION HERE AS THIS DEVELOPS. WE’RE HOPING TO SPEAK WITH OFFICIALS HERE LATER TODAY ONCE THEY GET THIS SITUATION UNDER CONTROL. BUT FOR NOW, WE’RE IN MARENGO, BEAU BOWMAN, KCCI 8 NEWS, IOWA’S NEWS LEADER AMBO. WHILE WE HAVE YOU CAN CAN I ASK YOU A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS? FIRST, TELL US ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE SMOKE AND THE SMOKE PLUME AS YOU COME FROM THE WEST AND SAW THIS, YOU SENT VIDEO INTO OUR NEWSROOM AS WELL. YEAH. JAMES, WE FIRST SAW IT WHEN WE WERE ABOUT THREE AND A HALF MILES OUTSIDE OF TOWN. SO IT’S VISIBLE FROM A LONG WAYS AWAY IS DESPITE ALL THE FOG THAT’S IN THE AIR TODAY AND IT’S JUST GOING OVER THE ENTIRE CITY, IT’S HARD TO TELL FROM THIS VANTAGE POINT FROM THE EAST. BUT WHEN YOU WHEN WE DROVE IN FROM THE SOUTH, IT JUST GOES UP AND STRAIGHT OVER ALL THE WATERTOWN HOURS. THE ENTIRE CITY REALLY. AND YOU CAN SEE THERE’S EVEN STILL SOME FLAMES THERE THAT THEY’RE TRYING TO PUT OUT INSIDE THE BUILDING THERE. IF WE ZOOM IN CLOSE AND YEAH, IT’S STILL JUST A VERY ACTIVE SCENE RIGHT NOW. WE’RE WAITING TO HEAR MORE INFORMATION FROM OFFICIALS. BEAU BOWMAN ON THE 800 BLOCK OF EAST SOUTH STREET. CORRECT. SO THE SOUTH EAST SIDE THERE OF MARENGO, ABOUT 90 MINUTES EAST OF THE DES MOINES METRO. YEAH. JAMES. THAT’S RIGHT. IT GO AHEAD. TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW. THIS IS ON. THIS IS ON THE SOUTH EAST SIDE OF TOWN. AND WE’RE FURTHER EAST THAN THAT ON A GRAVEL ROAD JUST SO WE COULD GET THIS GOOD VANTAGE POINT, BUT ALSO BE SAFE. LIKE I SAID, THE CITY IS WARNING PEOPLE THAT LIVE CLOSE TO THIS SITUATION THAT THEY DO NEED TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES. ANYONE WHO HASN’T DONE THAT YET, IF YOU NEED A PLACE TO GO, THE IOWA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION OFFICE IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN GO. THEY RUN SOME OF THE BUS SERVICES HERE IN TOWN, BUT THOSE ARE OPTIONS FOR YOU, FOR YOU IF YOU STILL HAVE AN EVACUATION TO YET. BUT WE’RE STAYING SAFE, STAYING A SAFE DISTANCE AWAY FROM IT. AND ON THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN WHERE THE WIND WON’T BLOW THIS SMOKE TOWARDS US. AND BOY, HAVE YOU SEEN ANY ROADS IN THE AREA BLOCKED OFF AS YOU WENT THROUGH TOWN. HEADED INTO TOWN? NO, THERE’S NO ROADS BLOCKED OFF INSIDE OF TOWN, THOUGH. YES. THE MAIN STREET THAT RUNS NORTH AND SOUTH IS BLOCKED OFF TOWARDS THE AT AN INTERSECTION THAT WOULD ON SOUTH STREET TAKE YOU EAST TOWARDS THIS. THIS WHAT APPEARS TO BE A FACTORY. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I MEAN, WE CAN JUST SEE A LOT OF EMERGENCY CREWS IN THE AREA SHUTTING DOWN PRIMARILY EAST SOUTH STREET ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF MARENGO. OKAY. OUR BEAU BOWMAN THERE, OF COURSE, WE WILL BE WITH HIM THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AS HE AND PHOTOGRAPHER BRANDON GREENE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THAT STORY TO RECAP, THE 800 BLOCK OF EAST SOUTH STREET, THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF MARENGO THERE. PEOPLE IN THE AREA ASKED TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES THIS IS WHAT THE EXPLOSION APPARENT EXPLOSION AND FIRE LOOKED LIKE EARLIER IN THE DAY. THIS VIEWER PHOTO SENT IN TO US. AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF PEOPLE HURT, UNKNOWN NUMBER OF PEOPLE EVACUATED. IF YOU ARE TO EVACUATE, YOU’RE ASKED TO GO TO THE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION BUILDING. THAT FIRE, AS YOU HEARD, SAW FROM BOW AND BRENNAN SHOT, STILL BEING FOUGHT THERE ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF TOWN. THE BUSINESS ITSELF IS A GRAIN ELEVATOR AND SOYBEAN CRUSHER. ACCORDING TO PROPERTY RECORDS. WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, IF ANYONE WAS HURT AND WHAT EXACTLY CAUSED THAT EXPLODE. JOHN, AT THAT GRAIN ELEVATOR AND SOYBEAN CRUSHER. AND THIS IS THE IMAGE THAT BOTH SENT TO THE NEWSROOM AS HE DROVE INTO TOWN WITH BRANDON GREENE. YOU CAN SEE THAT LARGE PLUME OF SMOKE AS HE MENTIONED, RUNNING EAST TO WEST THERE IN THE TOWN OF MARENGO. THIS IS IN IOWA COUNTY, THE COUNTY SEAT 90 MINUTES ROUGHLY EAST OF THE DES MOINES. AND THAT SMOKE IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE EVACUATED FOR IS BECAUSE THE POTENTIALLY TOXIC RESIDUE FROM THAT SMOKE, ACCORDING TO OUR BEAU BOWMAN. OF COURSE, STAY WITH KCCI THROUGH THE DAY FOR CONTINUING COVERAGE FROM MARENGO. WE WILL BE LIVE ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES AS NEEDED. IT IS, OF COURSE, AT FIVE AND 6 P.M. AND ON OUR MOBILE APP. GET OUR BREAKING NEWS ALERTS THERE AS WELL AS LIVE ON KCCI DOT COM. WE WILL NOW RETURN YOU TO REGULA