The Lake Elsinore Storm is expected to resume play Sunday after two games were postponed due to a natural gas explosion in the Class-A California League team’s clubhouse at Diamond Stadium that injured two plumbers installing a dryer.
Any changes to the plan to play the 1:15 p.m. game against the Inland Empire 66ers “will be communicated when information becomes available,” the team announced on social media Saturday.
“While contractors were installing new equipment in the team facility, there was an unfortunate accident related to the work being done,” the team said in a statement. “The contractors assigned to the installation sustained injuries and we are keeping them in our thoughts at this time.
“Thanks in part to the fire safety systems, efficient work of Storm staff and the timeliness of Cal Fire, the players and staff sustained no injuries and the damages were isolated to a very small area within the new building. Cal Fire finished their investigation quickly and the city of Lake Elsinore has been out to assess the damages and to ensure that the area is safe.”
The burst gas line caused a fire that was quickly doused by sprinklers inside the clubhouse, Maggie De La Rosa, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Fire Department, told the Los Angeles Times Friday.
The blast occurred about 4:20 p.m. Friday, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The agency said multiple engine crews and other units were sent to the location and found the two victims suffering from moderate burns to different parts of their bodies.
“Plumbers were installing a dryer in the locker room when an ignition occurred,” Southern California Gas Go. spokesman Ahmad Solomon wrote in an email to The Times.
Firefighters initially requested a helicopter to transport the patients but decided it would be faster to send them by ambulance to nearby Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment.
It was unclear whether the blast was a result of faulty equipment or a ruptured gas line.