Explosion at Washington State Dam Injures Six Employees

Utility district spokesman Thomas Stredwick says the employees were injured Thursday afternoon in a possible electrical explosion at the dam near Mattawa. At this point there are six confirmed employees with various levels of injury that have been taken to regional medical facilities via airlift or ground ambulance.

The head hydro manager for Grant PUD isn’t sure yet what caused the explosion, but says the generator called P-8 was recently under repairs.

Hospital officials were expecting two additional men involved in the explosion to arrive later.

A relay may have been involved in the explosion, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. The extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.

A few residents in the rural, largely agricultural area were without electrical power Thursday evening and cellphone service related to the blast, Stredwick said.

The Priest Rapids Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete gravity dam, located between the Yakima Firing Range and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Multiple agencies responded to the incident.