Green flames exploded from numerous manhole covers at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday night.
Social media videos showed one cover rattling like a lid on a witch’s cauldron as the mysterious fire erupted from underground.
BREAKING: Brightly colored flames were seen shooting up from manholes at Texas Tech as evacuations continued amid “multiple fires” spreading across campus buildings. pic.twitter.com/tkAlEi4e0O
— The General (@GeneralMCNews) March 13, 2025
An initial explosion may have prompted the numerous manhole fires, KCBD in Lubbock reported.
The incident began around 6:40 p.m., when police received multiple calls about power outages on campus, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Noticing a defective circuit, Lubbock Power & Light cut power to the northern and eastern parts of the campus.
Nearly 20 minutes later, police received reports of smoke spewing from manholes near the school’s Engineering Key, a campus park.
“Once our officers responded, they did see the smoke and some fire coming out of the manhole,” Capt. Amy Ivey of the Texas Tech Police Department said. “At that time, they reached out to the Texas Tech Fire Marshals and the Lubbock Fire Department to respond on scene.”
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Students were evacuated and released for an early spring break, while officials diagnosed the problem and assessed the damage.
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“[At] midnight, our crews were able to start going into very specific manholes to start restoring power,” said Matt Rose, chief public affairs officer for Lubbock Power & Light. “By 3 a.m., we restored every single meter that was able to be restored.”
The state fire marshal’s office has yet to determine the cause of the fire.
“At this time, we don’t have any idea,” Texas Tech Fire Marshal Michael Kennon said at a news conference on Thursday, KCBD reported.
Kennon added that there were a total of five fires that night.
“There are a lot of areas that they need to get to that are just not safe. It’s going to be some time before we have some answers,” Kennon said.
BREAKING: Green Flames Erupt at Texas Tech Campus
Lubbock Fire Rescue is responding to multiple fires at Texas Tech University, with green flames rising from a manhole. Buildings have been evacuated—situation developing.
#TexasTech #Lubbock #Breaking pic.twitter.com/gktbNA463c
— Newsletter (@Em0517561932234) March 13, 2025
As of Thursday, officials couldn’t estimate when full power would be restored on campus.
As for the green flames, Assistant Fire Chief Nick Wilson of Lubbock Fire Rescue had an explanation.
“These were electrical vaults, underground electrical facilities with, probably, metal fires,” Wilson said. “Copper burns green. Likely, that’s where we were seeing.”
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