Motel 6 in Washington State explodes, with gas leak suspected culprit

This Motel 6 in Bremerton, Washington, exploded Tuesday night

(Image credit: Twitter/@seaclarridge)

last updated 19 August 2015

On Tuesday night, a Motel 6 in Bremerton, Washington, exploded soon after the acting manager evacuated the building because of a gas leak. Nobody is believed to have died in the explosion, and one gas company employee was critically injured, according to the Bremerton Police Department. Seattle Times reporter Christine Clarridge posted this photo of the hotel right after the explosion, which manager Tonya Hinds says destroyed about a quarter of the building:

The hotel in Bremerton, across the Puget Sound from Seattle, had 65 guests, Hinds told The Associated Press, explaining that she decided to evacuate after a guest reported a gas line was leaking and she saw that the leak was a big one. "I pulled the alarm and started corralling people away from the building," said Hinds, a former volunteer firefigher. "I wanted to make sure all my guests were out." She said that one guest reported somebody jumping out of a window on or near the gas line right before the leak started.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.