Explosion levels house, several others damaged in suburban Long Grove

BY MARAH ALTENBERG, TODD SHIELDS AND FRANK ABDERHOLDEN Sun-Times Media April 25, 2014 11:44PM

Long Grove-4/26/14, Sat./4773 Trenton Ct. Aftermath of Friday nights house explosion in Long Grove. Joe Shuman/For Sun-Times Media

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Updated: April 26, 2014 6:41PM

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the explosion in Long Grove Friday night, which leveled an upscale home in the Royal Melbourne subdivision, may have been caused by a natural gas leak, although further investigation is on-going, Lake County Sheriffs officials said Saturday.

North Shore Gas was already in the area investigating a report of an odor of natural gas, Countryside Fire Protection District officials confirmed Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday morning North Shore Gas Company employees were on the scene as well as restoration crews and Lake County Sheriffs police blanketed the area. Homeowners were carrying luggage from their homes that had much structural damage. Some predicted they would be in hotels for at least the next few nights.

Clusters of homeowners were still out on the street retelling stories about the unbelieveable explosion that rocked their neighborhood. Landscape crews could be seen cleaning up the insulation that had scattered all over with leafblowers. You could still see the insulation in trees and covering rooftops of homes.

Huge plywood boards were stuck like javelins in the ground in Sheiners neighbors front yard.

When fire crews arrived at 10:51 they found the house at 4771 Trenton Court destroyed by an explosion and on fire, Countryside fire officials confirmed. Approximately 50 other houses within a quarter mile radius sustained moderate to severe damage. Some of the homes closest to the explosion are uninhabitable, fire officials said. Two people sustained minor injuries and were evaluated and released at the scene.

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Explosion levels house, several others damaged in suburban Long Grove