Evacuations are ordered after Elk City explosion

Two people were injured during the blast at Hodges Trucking, 2491 S Merritt, according to Elk City Emergency Management.

Area firefighters spent several hours fighting a massive blaze at the business, which is located in a rural area about 31/2 miles south of Interstate 40.

The cause of the explosion is being investigated, Elk City Emergency Management Capt. Roger Poole said.

Poole said two men were either loading or off-loading fluid onto a truck when the fluid ignited, but investigators did not know what caused the ignition Saturday evening.

“It is more of an oil-field or an industrial site over there. Everything north of the (explosion), we evacuated mainly due to the smoke because we weren't sure what was in the smoke and what it was burning,” he said.

Hodges Trucking is an affiliate of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy. Its website says it provides trucking services for the oil-field industry.

A Chesapeake spokesman told The Associated Press the company is investigating the blast.

Witnesses reported feeling the explosion up to three miles away.