Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jun 21, 2026, 9:00 PM
Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 8:55 PM · 2 months ago
The red marker is our best guess at the source; the blue dots are where people were. Estimated from how strong it felt across the area - loudest closest to the source. There aren't enough direction arrows yet, so this leans on the loudness pattern alone. A few people reporting which way it came from would sharpen it a lot.
What it lines up with
Automatic cross-references. Suggestive, not proof.
Stevens Drive Substation (substation) - about 1.3 km from the estimated origin.
A USGS M1.7 earthquake 43 km away, 41h apart.
Conditions weren’t especially sound-carrying. (25°C, wind 4 km/h, 0% cloud)
evening on a weekend.
First quarter (45% lit).
Transformer and substation faults set off both a boom and an outage. See who else nearby is out, and when it is coming back.
isthepowerout.comWhat people reported
Each number matches a dot on the map above.
Hollow sounding explosion, almost felt like it came from under the apartment.
Heard a big boom & saw firework lights from blast. It was an ariel mortar, visually saw it.
What do you think it was?
Cast your vote. The data’s nearest match: substation - Stevens Drive Substation.
Discussion
Saw the same thing? Have a theory or evidence about what it was? Weigh in.