PALMER — A man remained hospitalized in critical condition Monday after a large explosion Sunday afternoon at a commercial building near Wasilla.
Troopers and the Alaska State Fire Marshals Office were notified just before 2:30 p.m of an explosion on Top of the World Circle, off Knik-Goose Bay Road and West Fairview Loop south of Wasilla.
An initial investigation indicated the explosion was caused by a natural gas leak inside the building, troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said Monday.
The explosion, which could be heard for miles, demolished the building, troopers said.
It also damaged multiple buildings on the property, McDaniel said. Other neighboring structures also suffered minor damage. People from Sutton to Houston reported hearing the explosion.
Neighbors, as well as a social media post from a business co-owner, described the explosion as occurring in a new building on property belonging to Connoisseur, a marijuana business.
Kristie Parsons, who lives nearby, said she felt and heard the blast and then saw her horses had bolted into deep snow. That’s when she saw black smoke coming straight up from “the building that was no longer there,” Parsons said in an interview Monday.
The Fire Marshal’s Office is assisting Central Mat-Su Fire Department with the investigation into the explosion.
-- Reporter Alena Naiden contributed to this story.