Officials said the cause of the Moseley Street blast remained under investigation as utility and fire crews stayed on scene Friday.
LAKE DALLAS, Texas — Investigators worked Friday to determine what caused a Lake Dallas house to explode the night before, as neighbors recounted a frantic rescue and city officials kept nearby homes evacuated for safety.
The explosion ripped through a single-family house in the 600 block of Moseley Street shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, leaving at least one person hurt and the home destroyed. The story quickly moved from a neighborhood emergency to a wider investigation involving local fire crews, police departments and utility workers. By Friday afternoon, officials still had not said what triggered the blast, how many people had been inside the house, or whether natural gas had a direct role.
What neighbors said happened in the first minutes after the blast gave the clearest picture of the chaos. Jacob Sahl, who lives nearby, told CBS Texas he had just gotten home from work and was sitting on his couch when he heard the explosion. He ran toward the damaged house and found it already leveled, he said. As he and others moved closer, they heard someone crying from the wreckage. They began lifting doors, roofing pieces and other debris until they found a woman trapped inside, Sahl said. “As soon as we got her to the street, the whole house just went,” he said, describing a fire that intensified moments after the rescue. He said the woman appeared badly hurt but was conscious and speaking before she was taken away for treatment.
Authorities have publicly confirmed at least one injury but had not identified the person or released a condition update by Friday. FOX 4 reported that one person was airlifted to a hospital. Lake Cities firefighters and Lake Dallas police responded at 7:05 p.m., according to local officials, and mutual aid agencies joined them as flames consumed the structure. Lewisville, Corinth and Highland Village officers were among those called to help. The home, located east of Lake Dallas Middle School, eventually collapsed. By Friday morning, the site remained closed off, and city officials said residents living near the blast zone had been evacuated out of caution while crews worked to stabilize the area. Officials said they expected residents to return later Friday if conditions allowed.
The unanswered questions centered on cause. Atmos Energy had technicians at the scene during the fire and said it continued working with emergency officials overnight. The company also said gas service to the area was shut off as a precaution. State regulators were drawn in as well. CBS Texas reported that the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees pipeline safety, had inspectors on site Friday. That did not amount to a public finding, and authorities had not confirmed whether the blast began with a gas leak, an appliance failure, structural damage or another source. The National Transportation Safety Board had not decided Friday whether it would open its own investigation. Until those reviews move forward, officials have treated the cause as undetermined.
The explosion also came at a tense moment for the city. Earlier in the week, two separate natural gas line strikes elsewhere in Lake Dallas had led to evacuations and road closures near City Hall. Neither city officials nor Atmos Energy said those incidents were connected to the Moseley Street blast, but the timing added another layer of concern for residents already shaken by the force of the explosion. Neighbors described homes rattling and families rushing outside to figure out what had happened. One resident told CBS Texas it felt like an airplane had hit the house. Another, Jason Hughes, told FOX 4 it was the biggest explosion he had ever heard. Those accounts matched the severity seen on video from the scene, where little remained of the home but a mound of broken framing and scorched debris.
No charges were announced Friday, and there was no sign that the case had shifted from emergency response to a criminal investigation. Instead, the next phase appeared to be technical and procedural: securing the scene, preserving evidence, reviewing utility lines, and interviewing witnesses and nearby residents. Officials also had to address the practical effects on the block, from road closures to safe reentry for evacuated households. For families who spent the night away from home, the investigation was not just about cause. It also determined when the neighborhood could return to normal and whether any broader hazard remained on the street.
By late Friday, the scene remained both a rescue site and a puzzle. Emergency crews had saved at least one life, but the central fact of the case was still missing: what set off the blast on a quiet residential block. Officials were expected to provide their next update after utility crews and investigators finish additional work at the property.
Author note: Last updated March 20, 2026.