No injuries have been reported, and all construction workers who were on site at the future American Greetings headquarters building have reportedly been accounted for.
Police have mostly cordoned off the area surrounding Crocker Park, diverting southbound traffic at Detroit Road. The public has been asked to stay away from the area, though traffic was pouring into the adjacent strip mall — the "Giant Eagle plaza," in local parlance — in the aftermath of the blast. (The explosion site seems fairly contained; shoppers were quietly milling about the central part of Crocker Park, around Barnes and Noble, as the morning went on.)
Social media reports have area residents as far as a mile away hearing and/or feeling the explosion. An employee at Barnes and Noble told Scene that "it was pretty crazy." Most businesses at Crocker Park appeared to be open as of 11:50 a.m.
Video of fire at Crocker Park from viewer Abby Carlson. Tell us what you are seeing/what you felt. @wkyc pic.twitter.com/Frjz6LJSHf
— Denise Polverine (@denisep) March 10, 2016
This next video is shared courtesy Sarah Kurth from Vitality Health:
Video of explosion at Crocker Park as seen from Aligned Health Center parking lot pic.twitter.com/eC6MMPZ5BP
— AlignedHealthCenter (@AlignedWestlake) March 10, 2016
Photo courtesy of Michael Hitch
The aftermath
This post will be updated when more information becomes available throughout the day.
