Woodstock explosion 1 year later: Looking back at what happened then and since

One year ago Wednesday, Woodstock was literally shaken by a home explosion that flattened one house, left another a burned-out shell, damaged many more structures, could be seen and heard from Woodstock Square and beyond and amazingly caused no major injuries or deaths.

[ Photos: Woodstock explosion then and now ]

One year later, the property that was leveled has new ownership, and the city says it is not at fault for what happened. Here’s a look back and what happened and where things stand down.

What happened Oct. 9, 2023?

While out doing sewer cleaning and televising, a contractor for the city of Woodstock, Visu-Sewer, hit a gas line that was cross-bored with a sanitary line. Natural gas backed up into homes, triggering a home explosion at 321 Lincoln Avenue, according to city records.

A city employee reported a gas leak about 12:30 p.m. the day of the explosion, and City Manager Roscoe Stelford told the employee to call 911.

The fire department arrived to the scene minuted later and determined a contract crew had struck a gas main inside a sewer line. Nicor personnel arrived at 1 p.m. and evacuated St. Mary Church and School as a precaution.

About 1:50 p.m., Stelford emailed the mayor and city council about the gas leak and wrote that Nicor was on the scene and people in the affected area should stay inside.

[ Man whose house blew up in Woodstock talks about the blast, his frustrations with city ]

Just under an hour later, the home exploded in a blast that damaged several other buildings in the area and even caused items to fall off the walls at downtown businesses. Two firefighters were treated for injuries, but nobody was injured in the blast itself, officials said.

About an hour after the explosion, Nicor contained the gas leak and shut off gas to the area.

Officials said that in the days after the explosion that 22 people were displaced and 20 structures were affected.

In the days and weeks that followed, the community rallied around those affected through gofundme fundraisers and a clothing drive, many of which came close to or exceeded their goals. A clothing drive was set up in October. Lindsay Tullar of Redwood + Sage Photography helped to organize the effort. Tullar said “everyone was super, super responsive.” She said multiple people and families came by to provide items including household goods, toiletries and baby supplies.

[ Revisit our coverage of the Woodstock explosion ]

Two weeks after the explosion, officials reported a second gas leak on the same block. The fire department and Nicor responded to that scene and officials said it was an isolated incident.

St. Mary Church, across the street from the home that exploded, suffered some damage to stained glass windows. Because of the damage, masses were moved to the St. Mary School gym and Marian Central Catholic High School. A visit from the Rockford Bishop David Malloy to dedicate the church’s new tabernacle, baptismal font and lecterns was canceled in the wake of the explosion. St. Mary School had remote learning for the week following the explosion.

At the end of October, St. Mary parishioners were able to return to their sanctuary and the Rev. Burt Absalon told the congregation the church was hoping to have the windows back up by Christmas.

Where do things stand now?

No lawsuits related to the explosion turned up in multiple searches of McHenry County court records.

The city’s attorneys “continue to assert that the City has NO liability for this situation,” according to city documents. In an update on potential city litigation included in the Sept. 17 city council packet, officials wrote that it would “tender” any lawsuits it received regarding the home explosion to Nicor or the city contractor Visu-sewer.

The city said it encouraged those affected to file claims with their homeowner’s insurance, Nicor and the city’s insurance company, but has not gotten any information about the settlement of those claims.

Visu-sewer, the contractor who hit the gas line, is no longer contracted for sewer cleaning and televising work for the city. In May, Woodstock switched sewer cleaning and televising providers to McVac Hydro Excavating of McHenry after going out for bid. Visu-sewer was among the companies who placed a bid for sewer cleaning this year, but ultimately McVac was determined to be the lowest bidder and thus selected by the city, according to city documents.

A person at Visu-sewer said Tuesday they had no information on any contracts or work with the city and declined to comment when asked about any lawsuits.

Stelford, the city manager, said the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District investigated the explosion and put out a report. The Northwest Herald has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the report.

A Nicor spokesperson said reports indicate natural gas main damage may have occurred as early as 11:10 a.m. the day of the explosion, but the company was not notified of the damage until about 12:30 p.m.

The spokesperson said a company first responder was on scene just before 1:10 p.m. Nicor personnel worked with the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District to evacuate the area, and the spokesperson said the company is not aware of any Nicor personnel who urged residents to shelter in place.

“We also are not aware of any lawsuits filed in connection with this incident to date. Nicor Gas has cross-bore prevention and detection programs and routinely inspects the sewers surrounding our underground infrastructure using CCTV cameras,” the spokesperson said.