Some thought it was an earthquake.  Jack Johnson’s guess was a little bit closer to the truth. He lives just across Route 212 from where the blast happened—a mile or so south of Bolivar--and thought at first it may have been a small plane crash. 

Jackson says the well has been across the road--on the backside of the hill off of Interstate 77 about midway between Canton and New Philadelphia--for three or four years now.  And he says it seems to have been well maintained.  Other neighbors say it was operated by MKE Producing,a Canton-based energy investing company. 

Captain Marty Huth of the Bolivar Fire Department  told reporters a two-person crew had been sent to the well site to do some painting,  and one of them was called away just before the blast.  Beyond that, investigators are still looking into what happened. 

Brandie DeLong is another neighbor.  She says the scene was surreal before fire crews arrived.

The tank was holding the natural gas that comes along with the oil extraction. And, flames roared at least 50 feet high from both the point where the storage tank blew up and the hill-face where it landed, a quarter of a mile away.

Jack Johnson says it was a scary scene.

It took firefighters from the Bolivar and surrounding communities about two hours to put everything out and secure the area.   Hazmat and other safety crews continued to pin down the cause throughout the day.

The area of the explosion is rural residential, and the Tuscarawas County coroner says had the debris flown slightly east, it could have jeopardized the neighborhood.