Manhole Explosion at Texas Tech University Causes Fires, Outages and Cancels Classes

A Department of Public Safety trooper walks into Flores Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, US, September 6, 2022. REUTERS/Nuri Vallbona
A Department of Public Safety trooper walks into Flores Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, US, September 6, 2022. REUTERS/Nuri Vallbona
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Manhole Explosion at Texas Tech University Causes Fires, Outages and Cancels Classes

A Department of Public Safety trooper walks into Flores Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, US, September 6, 2022. REUTERS/Nuri Vallbona
A Department of Public Safety trooper walks into Flores Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, US, September 6, 2022. REUTERS/Nuri Vallbona

An explosion on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock set off fires and power outages Wednesday, leading school officials to issue evacuation orders for several buildings and cancel classes for the rest of the week.
An alert sent to the campus community around 8:45 p.m. described the explosion as occurring at a substation but a later update said it was at a manhole. No injuries were reported, Lubbock Fire Rescue Capt. Jon Tunnell said, according to The Associated Press.
Videos circulating on social media and local TV stations showed a heavy presence of firefighters on campus and fire and smoke coming out of at least one manhole cover.
It wasn’t clear what might have caused the explosion.
Power will be shut down to the entire campus in Lubbock, Texas, while repairs are underway, said Caitlynn Jeffries, a spokesperson for the university's police department.
“You can go ahead and go home for Spring break. We are closing school down for the next couple days," Jeffries said.
The school also instructed faculty and staff to work remotely if possible until further notice.
Lubbock Fire Rescue responded to a possible gas leak around 7 p.m. local time and found “multiple manhole covers with smoke and fire issuing from them,” Tunnell said.
“This remains a very active scene as crews continue to assist Texas Tech University in mitigating this emergency," he said.
There are more than 40,000 students at Texas Tech and the school sits on 1,800 acres in West Texas.



Solar Becomes Europe's Main Energy Source in June

Solar had never before been Europe's top energy source, consultants say. Damien MEYER / AFP/File
Solar had never before been Europe's top energy source, consultants say. Damien MEYER / AFP/File
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Solar Becomes Europe's Main Energy Source in June

Solar had never before been Europe's top energy source, consultants say. Damien MEYER / AFP/File
Solar had never before been Europe's top energy source, consultants say. Damien MEYER / AFP/File

Solar power became the European Union's biggest single energy source for the first time in June, an energy think tank said Thursday.

The Ember group that researches the clean energy transition said that 22.1 percent of Europe's power in June came from solar panels, reported AFP.

That came ahead of nuclear power on 21.8 percent and wind turbines on 15.8 percent, according to the British-based institution. Gas accounted for 14.4 percent and hydropower 12.8 percent.

Ember said that at least 13 countries beat their national record for solar power production.

Wind power production also hit a new record for Europe and coal has never accounted for such a low proportion of Europe's electricity output -- Ember estimated it at 6.1 percent across the continent, down from 8.8 percent in 2024.

But with demand for electricity rising, the use of coal in the first half of 2025 was still higher than the same period in 2024, Ember said. Electricity demand in the first six months was more than two percent higher than last year.