Man, 68, dies in Walworth County house explosion

WALWORTH COUNTY, Wis. — The Walworth County Sheriff says a 68-year-old man died Tuesday after a house exploded. Leland Holden was found in the rubble and airlifted to a hospital, where he was later…

The mood was quiet and somber in Lafayette, the day before the July 4 holiday. Heavy equipment was brought to the home as people searched through the rubble. Neighbors and people working nearby were still reeling from the house explosion

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Drone footage shows the remains of a house explosion in LaFayette.

“It literally felt like an earthquake because the trailer shook,” said Jackie Brouwer, who owns a fireworks trailer in the city.

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Jackie Brouwer felt the explosion. She owns a fireworks trailer in town.

Other residents of the city, who live 12 miles away, tell us they also felt the shock in their homes. But neighbors on Kulow Road, where the explosion occurred, say it was a huge explosion.

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Everett Bladow is shaken by the explosion at a house in rural Walworth County.

“It was like a bomb went off,” neighbor Everett Bladow said.

“The whole house was shaking,” said neighbor Diane Riese. “We looked up at the tree line and there was a cloud of white and smoke.”

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Neighbor Diane Riese says, “We looked up at the tree line and saw a cloud of white smoke.”

Neighbors who didn’t want to be on camera say they ran to the house to try to help. One even checked the mailbox to see if Holden, their neighbor, had gotten his mail. When it was empty, they assumed Holden was home and tried to find him until emergency crews arrived and told them to go back.

The crew found Holden in the basement, screaming for help. It took more than half an hour to extract him from the rubble and airlift him to the hospital, where he later died.

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“Everyone is very close,” Jackie said. “Everyone feels something for themselves when something like this happens.”

The Elkhorn Fire Department said the cause of the explosion is still under investigation and that it is working with the State Fire Marshal’s Office to find answers.

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