A home explodes into a ball of flames and the blast can be felt for miles.

Friday morning, the fire chief says everyone nearby is lucky they're alive.

Almena Fire Chief Greg Rayment says the blast leveled one home and heavily damaged several others. But, he says thankfully no one was hurt.

Chief Rayment says deputies at the Barron County Sheriff's Department felt the blast around 9:15 Thursday night. Minutes later the 911 calls started. He says crews rushed to the home on the west side of Upper Turtle Lake.

Dave Slack sent us these 4 photos. The first photo shows fire fighters dealing with the fire after the explosion.

CLICK HERE for a shot of the flames at the cabin
CLICK HERE for a picture of the cabin next door
CLICK HERE for a photo of another neighboring cabin
CLICK HERE for a photo of the debris from the blast

These 8 photos show the damage to the home and surrounding properties.
Courtesy: Kate Eidahl with the Cumberland Advocate.

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Photo 8

"This was a big ball of fire. What's lying here was completely engulfed. There were huge flames. People called it in from a long way a way," Rayment says.

The chief says the fire was out within a couple hours. But, he says the damage will take days to clean up. The explosion leveled one home and heavily damaged at least five others-- knocking out walls and shattering windows.

Rayment says the home's owner is from Minnesota and no one was staying in the home when it exploded and no one was hurt. But, the chief says the next door neighbors were lucky to be out on a pontoon boat or they could've been badly injured.

"It could've been just devastating for the lady next door and these people if they would've been home. We all know what would've been," Rayment says.

Chief Rayment says a lot of the home also ended up in the lake so the DNR will also be on scene this morning. He says his crew stayed all night to watch for flare ups.

Crews will continue to investigate the blast today. The state fire inspector is expected to arrive this morning.

Rayment says a gas leak may be to blame for the explosion. He says the gas is turned off at all surrounding properties. But, he says they won't know for sure what sparked it until the fire marshal investigates.

If you have any pictures from the explosion or the aftermath send them to news@weau.com