SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — A full day after a house explosion in South Jordan killed a 15-year-old boy and forced nearby evacuations, the gravity of what occurred in their backyards is starting to set in for neighbors.
Raw video below shows house explosion caught on camera:
"Just horrible devastation," said neighbor Carol Lee Doramus, who lives a few blocks away from the home.
Doramus said she heard a loud explosion and couldn’t imagine what it was until her daughter told her what happened.
"What strikes you, that the house... there isn’t any," she added. "And I looked up there and it looks like a refrigerator up there on the pile. And I can’t imagine losing everything I own, my children’s pictures, those kinds of things."
On Wednesday, the 15-year-old boy killed in the explosion was identified as a student at Bingham High School. His name has not been released out of respect for the family.
A gas leak was determined to be cause of the fire and explosion in an update by South Jordan Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Lessner.
The source of the gas leak remains under investigation.
Neighbors rallied around the boy’s family, with some tying blue ribbons on a fence that’s now in front of where the home once stood.
Drone video shows aftermath of South Jordan home explosion:
"I couldn’t imagine that," said neighbor David Llewellyn. "My heart, our hearts, my wife and I, go out to the family."
In a message from the city, Mayor Dawn Ramsey said the family has requested privacy following the incident.
“Our community has experienced an unimaginable tragedy with the passing of one of our residents after their family home exploded yesterday," Ramsey wrote. "Our hearts are broken as we mourn alongside the family, friends, neighbors, and all who are grieving during this devastating time."
A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family purchase food and clothes, as well as to cover funeral costs.
Heartbroken over what happened, those who live in the South Jordan neighborhood, like Doramus, believe they will all get through this week's tragedy together.
"We have the most wonderful neighborhood that I’ve ever lived in and I’ve been here a long time... people come and go but we’re always here to help."
