Canton, South Dakota: One Dead After Garage Explosion Shatters Windows and Forces Evacuations

One person has died after an explosion in a home garage in Canton, South Dakota, early Monday, according to Lincoln County Emergency Management.

The explosion happened at about 12:20 a.m. near the intersection of North Johnson and West Third streets, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office deputies on the scene said. The boom shook homes in the immediate area, shattered windows in nearby buildings, and led a small group of residents to evacuate while emergency crews assessed the scene, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported from the scene.

Firefighters extinguished flames from what was left of the garage and an SUV parked in front of the home in the early hours of Monday. An ambulance arrived at the scene at 1:35 a.m. The Canton Police Department posted at about 3 a.m. that officers were dealing with a large explosion at Third and Pleasant, had set a perimeter, and would remain in the area until further notice. Roads between Johnson and Third and Pleasant streets were blocked on Monday morning.

Deputy Allison Oldenkamp told residents on the scene to stay back and said everyone who needed to be out of the area was out. Neighbors three houses to the east said the blast busted their windows and blew their kitchen cabinets open. Residents in Harrisburg and in Inwood, Iowa, said they heard the explosion. By 8 a.m. Monday, officers on the scene were not yet able to say whether anyone had been injured. Once gas was turned off to the home, residents were allowed to return, and most of the damage beyond the home was broken windows at other houses and damage to a nearby vehicle.

The death was reported around noon on Monday. Emergency management director Harold Timmerman said on Monday afternoon that one person had died, that the exact cause of the explosion was still unclear, and that there were no other reported victims or injuries at this time, the Argus Leader reported. KELOLAND News in Sioux Falls also reported on Monday that one person was dead in the Canton explosion.

The investigation has been turned over to the South Dakota State Fire Marshal, which is now the lead investigating agency. State fire marshal investigators remained on the scene on Monday afternoon. Officials have not released the name of the person who died, and they have not said what caused the explosion.

Canton is the county seat of Lincoln County, south of Sioux Falls, and the sheriff's office there serves communities across the southern Sioux Falls metro. Anyone with information about the explosion is likely to hear next from the fire marshal's office, which has not given a timeline for its findings.