Nearby businesses forced to close after explosion in Harrisonburg

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - It was the explosion heard all across the Valley, and people near it, felt it. While the cause is still under investigation, the damage to nearby buildings is also quite substantial.

Some of the after effects happening at Domino’s and Wendy’s. A lot of shattered glass, and a Wendy’s employee actually pointed out there is still some debris up in the trees from the original building.

The family who owns Funky’s Skating Center said most of their damage happened inside.

“He called me up saying if it was the main cause... Or what it was. But something bad had happened,” Joanne Wills, owner of Funky’s said.

When the explosion erupted, the family who runs Funky’s Skate Center got an alert that their burglar alarms were going off.

After checking security cameras, they got to the scene and a destroyed ceiling, cracked walls and destruction throughout the building. Luckily, no one was inside at the time.

“We had a child’s birthday party. So a couple of hours later would have been tragic,” Wills said.

Wills said her son felt the explosion from home. The building was deemed unfit, so Funky’s will be forced to temporarily close. Monday, they are set to hear If it can be repaired or if it will have to be demolished.

WHSV will touch base with the owners once again next week.

Meanwhile the manager at Wendy’s told WHSV there were two employees inside at the time.

That building has also been deemed unfit, and it will be closed for at least a month. Thankfully, no one from these surrounding businesses were hurt.

A gofundme page has been set up to help Blue Sprocket and Hometown Music with immediate recovery costs, as the explosion also destroyed those businesses. You can donate here.

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