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DoodlebearsI thought there was a thunder storm just after six o'clock this morning but the noise was a large explosion at an oil depot fifteen to twenty miles from my home near to Hemel Hempstead, hertfordshire . The explosion has been felt up to eighty miles in diameter. There is now a huge fire and people are being evacuated from the area because of the fumes and smoke. Many houses have been damage but luckily not too many people injured. It has been reported as being heard as far as Northern France and Holland. I pray that there have been no lives lost.
Jane 
Nova Scotia,CanadaOh,that's horrible ,Jane. I add my heartfelt prayers and hope everyone is safe and well . Please take care ! :hug: :hug:
UKHope everyone is safe
Bears-a-Bruin!I've been watching the news, Jane, and the satellite photos show a huge plume of smoke drifting across North London and beyond. It looks dreadful, and I'm amazed no one has lost their life in this incident. The eye witness reports are horrific, especially from the men who were in the actually in the yard of the site when the explosion happened...
They say it'll burn a few days 
Bumpkin BearsI've just seen the news too, my family live in Hertfordshire (St Albans), so should be far enough away I hope. It looks terrible in the film footage. Make sure you stay indoors Jane with the windows closed, they say the smoke is an irritant. Stay safe,
Big Hugs
Catherine
Sophie Z'OursI have just seen it at the TV news too. Dear, poor people who had to evacuate...
Beary hugs,
Sophie.
Posts: 8,574Jane you be careful, honey, you're still healing from surgery.....and your lungs are so precious... keep us poster.
Poor England has been through so much lately.....I sincerly hope this was an accident and not terrorist based......but who can say. Our experience herein the states is that unless the government has to, they don't tell the truth. It is disconcernting.
hugs to you sweetie.....keep breathing clean air...
dilu
PS they just showed pics here on the tv.....awful
Back Road BearsIt's on TV here too!
Jane, I'm glad you are far enough away!
Big hugs,
Daphne
Upstate New YorkFriends in a neighboring town had similar experience (heard an explosion) yesterday. Residential, not industrial. Scary stuff.
Posts: 3,540I've just looked through the photos from BBC....how awful! Please do take good care of yourself, and use air filters if you have any. 
What I'm worried about are all the horses/ponies and other livestock. Police are telling people to stay inside with doors and windows closed, but what about all those poor animals out there breathing this stuff?
Thankfully, it does look to be just an accident with no "terror" implications.....
Past Time BearsAwful stuff! Glad you are safe, Jane . . . hope everything will be okay and with a minimum of injury. :pray: :pray:
Posts: 3,177Jane - you must live near me honeybun! 
Send me a PM and let me know what town/village you in!
We have just got back from a weekend away and we were dreading the drive home but although many roads were closed the roads were quite empty thank goodness. But the SMELL was awful as we drove back into this area of Hertfordshire - yuk, no wonder people are being told not to go out and keep their windows shut.
I saw the early morning news and was really shocked at the size of the explosion and fire - just think of the environmental damage it could cause - i'm soo glad that there were no fatalities, bad things have a habit of happening around the Xmas period don't they? Or does it just seem that way?
Glad you are OK though :hug:
Penny 
Kim-Bee BearsVery scary... glad you are ok Jane... :hug:
Patsy Lake Bearsjust been online to my daughter who lives in London but they are ok ....heard the explosion ...stay safe Jane
Gatehouse GalleryI watched it on CNN last night and it looked really bad. Keep inside Jane, you don't want to be breathing that honey bun. :hug:
Kiprie BearsJane, I'm so sorry !!
I just hear this horrible news this morning on TV and I was off from TV yesterday...
Glad to hear that you were ok but please stay safe.
Hugs/Marie
Jane,
What a scary thing to happen! I'm glad you're ok. Stay safe. :hug:
Jazzy RagsClad you are all right Jane i to saw it on the news are you getting any of that black smoke ?
BEAR ME SHOOTKA....that's really scary! Jane, I'm glad you're OK
Please, take care!
There was an explosure in China on some chemical factory. And neighbor state is in high danger of the pollution. really scary and can cause lots of death.
I do hope this incendent in Britain won't take humans lives. :hug: 
:pray:
Julia
Mountain Dreamer Bearsscary stuff!!
I'm so glad your okay Jane! :hug:
Stay safe and I hope everyone in the area stays safe and away from the smoke as much as possible.
DoodlebearsThe fire is still burning and another huge tank has caught fire so it looks as if the problem will continue for some time. The firemen have used foam on the fire to try and control it but so far no luck. What it has done is change the way the smoke it rising. The smoke is now far lower to the ground which is far more dangerous to life. My son and daughters college has closed today because of the smoke. It don't know if it will open again before Christmas. My son was to be in a stage show on Wednesday, he is still waiting to see if this will go ahead. It will be a shame if it is cancelled as he and all the other actors have worked so hard on learning their parts.
Jane 
Matilda Huggington-beareIt's on the news over here. It's absolutely tremendous. Such a catastrophy!!! :pray: :pray:
