Texas Tech officials trying to determine what caused explosion and fires that prompted campus closure

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Lubbock fire officials said Thursday that they are still uncertain about what caused at least one underground explosion and several fires at Texas Tech University the night before that took out power and forced an emergency shutdown of the campus.

Emergency officials said they received several calls regarding a potential gas leak just before 7 p.m. on campus. Upon arrival, firefighters found flames shooting out of manholes, a Lubbock Fire official said during a press conference Wednesday. Video from the Texas Tech campus posted by local news station KCBD shows green flames spewing from one manhole. Officials at a second press conference Thursday said the discoloration was likely caused by copper and other electronic material underground.

Texas Tech Fire Marshal Mike Kennon said teams initially responded to three different fires on campus, but later determined that there were five fires in underground vaults. Officials also said natural gas is being removed from underground, but could not confirm whether it was what caused the fires.

“Was that a result of an explosion, or electrical or a fire, or was it the other way around?” Lubbock Assistant Fire Chief Nick Wilson said. “We know it was present. We don't necessarily know why.”

Officials on Thursday did not confirm whether there was a single explosion or several, but said on Wednesday there was at least one underground explosion inside a manhole on campus near Engineering Key, a central portion of the campus.

Evacuations began in that area shortly after firefighters arrived, and power was either automatically or intentionally shut off to avoid exacerbating the fires and prevent any further damage. No injuries have been reported.

“An event like this can obviously cascade and cause a lot worse damage than we saw,” said Matt Rose, chief public affairs officer for Lubbock Power & Light. “That being said, we're taking this very, very seriously.”

About 40% of the campus is still without power as of Thursday afternoon, officials said, and the explosion initially caused outages across campus and at the nearby Texas Tech Health and Sciences Center. Because a bulk of the damaged systems are underground, it is unclear how long repairs may take as officials wait for portions of the tunnels to be deemed safe for repairs.

Spring break for Texas Tech students was set to start Monday, however the university announced it will be closed for the remainder of the week. For students who had chosen to remain on campus during spring break but are now without power, Texas Tech has provided housing accommodations, and food was donated by H-E-B and other groups, as well.

Disclosure: H-E-B and Texas Tech University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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