LUBBOCK, Texas – A powerful explosion inside a maintenance hole at Texas Tech University on Wednesday evening led to fires, widespread power outages, and the evacuation of several buildings, prompting officials to cancel classes for the remainder of the week, according to university police.
The explosion occurred in the Engineering Key section of campus, sending a smoke ring high into the air. “I heard an explosion and then saw a smoke ring, almost like a cartoon or something,” doctoral student Robert Gauthreaux III told KCBD-TV. “It traveled about 200 feet in the air.”
Gauthreaux, who was inside the architecture building at the time, reported that power was lost in the area. He and others attempted to assist an individual trapped inside an elevator due to the outage.
University police spokesperson Caitlynn Jeffries stated that power was being shut down across the entire campus as repairs were conducted. She urged all non-essential personnel to stay away and advised students to leave early for spring break.
“You can go ahead and go home for spring break. We are closing school down for the next couple of days,” Jeffries said during a media briefing.
Lubbock Fire Rescue responded to a possible gas leak at approximately 7 p.m., according to Fire Captain Jon Tunnell. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered multiple maintenance hole covers with fire and smoke actively emerging from them. Despite the severity of the situation, no injuries were reported.
A university alert initially described the explosion as occurring at a substation. Social media and news footage captured extensive emergency personnel on-site and smoke billowing from maintenance holes.
Officials have not yet determined the cause of the explosion. Texas Tech University, home to over 40,000 students, spans 1,800 acres in West Texas. The incident has raised concerns about campus infrastructure and safety as investigations continue.
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