Much of Wisconsin resort town closed after blast that killed two

ELLISON BAY, Wis. — Much of a tiny tourist town on the shores of Lake Michigan remained closed today as investigators sorted out what caused a series of explosions that killed two vacationers from Michigan and sent seven others to hospitals.

"What should be a bustling community right now is vacated. It's a devastating blow," Charles Most, chairman of the Door County Board and the Liberty Grove Town Board, said late Monday as roadblocks on Highway 42 detoured traffic around the resort community during the bustling summer season.

"If this would have happened in the daytime hours, it would have been totally devastating."

The blasts, about 2:30 a.m. Monday, collapsed a 136-year-old grocery store, burned down a cottage and damaged a maintenance building that also includes several living units in this unincorporated village of about 150 residents on the Door County peninsula, said Chief Chris Hecht of the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department.

Investigators were focusing on a possible propane gas leak, Hecht said.

"It could have been an underground leak. It could have been an above-ground leak," he said. "Until we have concrete cause and origin, we will not speculate."

The victims were recovered late Monday morning from the cottage. They were identified Tuesday by the Brown County Medical Examiner's Office as Patrick M. Higdon, 49, and Margaret Brooks Higdon, 45, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

The Rev. Norman Nawrocki, pastor of St. Regis Roman Catholic Parish in that Detroit suburb, said two of the couple's three children and Margaret Brooks Higdon's parents were among those injured.

"They were vacationing together. This was their annual vacation. They did it (at Ellison Bay) for a long, long time," he said after talking to Margaret Brooks Higdon's father.

About 400 people attended a Tuesday morning Mass held on behalf of the family, Nawrocki said.

"The parish has just been devastated," he said.

Seven people were taken to the hospital, Hecht said. Four remained hospitalized Tuesday, while three were released later Monday, Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel said. Authorities relocated about 100 tourists and residents after the explosion.

The cottage was part of the Cedar Grove Resort, where Hecht said 49 people were staying.

The 10 businesses in Ellison Bay, which is about 65 miles northeast of Green Bay, remained closed Tuesday.

Hecht said local authorities called state and federal investigators to help with the case.

A contractor for Wisconsin Public Service Corp. had been working in the area, said company spokesman Kerry Spees.

"The circumstances surrounding the explosion are not determined but some are speculating that a contractor may have damaged underground propane lines," he said.

A road passed between two of the buildings damaged, but Hecht did not know whether any propane lines were buried beneath it.

Most said if there was an underground leak, the gas could have traveled anywhere given the way the ground's rocks are situated.

No one may have smelled anything because the soil can filter out the odor of propane, Hecht said.

Investigators say three explosions occurred, and they plan to interview more than 100 people to better determine the sequence of events, Vogel said.

"We are trying to get some of the timing down, what went first and last," he said.

Village officials will seek a disaster declaration, Most said. Authorities also will seek to condemn the grocery store and maintenance building, which collapsed but didn't burn, Vogel said.

Bill and Helen Teuber, of Dunnellon, Fla., were sleeping at Hotel Disgarden when the explosions woke them.

"We heard two tremendous booms. BOOM! Twice," said Bill Teuber, 89. "I thought it was my building."

His wife ran outside, smelling smoke and seeing the sky filled with sparks, Teuber said.

"It was like fireworks," he said as his son moved the couple from the hotel. "It was too close for comfort."

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Associated Press writer John Hartzell in Milwaukee contributed to this report.