A natural gas explosion in Minneapolis, Minnesota this morning touched off an enormous fireball. Photo by The City Pages.

When it comes to natural gas explosions in major metropolitan areas these days, the question isn’t if, it’s when — and, of course, where.

Well, we have our answer: today in Minneapolis. A natural gas line exploded into a tremendous fireball, shooting flames more three stories into the air and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people who live and work in the area of the immolation.

Here’s a link to coverage of the natural gas explosion from MSNBC, which has some truly spectacular video of the natural gas explosion.

More on this, and the state of our country’s decaying natural gas infrastructure, to come.