Hoover Dam explosion: All you need to know

A tourist posted a video of a small explosion at the Hoover Dam, in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the border between Nevada and Arizona. 

“My goodness, something’s just blown up”, the woman in the video can be heard saying. It was posted on Twitter by an individual named Kristy Hairston, who said she was touring the dam, Tuesday, when she heard the explosion. 

A male voice in the video can be heard taking note of the explosion and fire below. 

Also Read | Vladimir Putin reaches Tehran, hold talks with Iran, Turkey leaders

No additional details about the cause of the fire were evident immediately. 

Alarms were sounded after the explosion and the fire can still be seen burning in another video, where the person claims the bridge they were standing on also started shaking. 

Boulder City fire department tweeted that they were en route after the explosion was heard, but followed it up, saying “the fire was extinguished before Boulder City Fire Department arrived on scene.” 

Also Read | North Kansas City shooting: Missouri gun laws explained

Hoover Dam authorities and the Bureau of Reclamation will be fielding questions about the events that took place. Hoover Dam was constructed between 1930 and 1936 and is the highest concrete arch dam. It forms Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake in the US, which is a source of water for Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado and Nevada, along with parts of Mexico. 

The Bureau of Reclamation provided an update on the situation and will provide an update on the cause of the fire after conducting an investigation. 

They said, “At approx. 10 AM PDT, the A5 transformer at Hoover Dam caught fire & was extinguished by @usbr/Hoover fire brigade at approx. 10:30 AM PDT. There are no injuries to visitors/employees. There is no risk to the power grid. Power is still being generated from the powerhouse”. 

[This is a developing story]