April 17--At least five people were rushed to the hospital with burns after a "major gas line explosion" at the Fresno County Sheriff's Office gun range, a department official said.
The blast occurred about 2:30 p.m. behind the range in an area under construction, said Lt. John Zanoni. The injured did not include Sheriff's Office employees, he said. No firearms were involved in the explosion.
Fresno Fire Department spokesman Pete Martinez said witnesses reported a "ball of fire" that burned multiple people.
The explosion was linked to a Pacific Gas Electric gas line, he said, and officials from the utility were on their way to the scene to investigate.
PG officials said they were gathering more information before they could comment.
The fire triggered a two-alarm response from local firefighters.
This article will be updated.
UPDATES
3:48 p.m. Updated with additional details about the injured.
This article was published at 3:20 p.m.
