2 hurt in explosion at California minor league baseball stadium

At least two people were injured in an explosion at a minor league baseball stadium in the Southern California city of Lake Elsinore Friday afternoon, about three hours prior to a scheduled game.

At about 4:20 p.m. local time, firefighters responded to a report of a gas leak at Lake Elsinore Diamond stadium to find two people hurt, according to the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The two were taken to a local hospital with moderate injuries, the fire department said. They were not immediately identified.

The stadium is home to the Lake Elsinore Storm, a Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. A Lake Elsinore city spokesperson told CBS Los Angeles that the explosion was reported in the home team’s locker room area.

After the explosion, aerial footage from CBSLA showed players on the field appearing to still be warming up. 

However, the stadium was evacuated, the city spokesperson said, and surrounding roads were closed. 

The Storm had been scheduled to host the Inland Empire 66ers, with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. The team later announced that both Friday and Saturday’s games against the 66ers had been postponed due to the incident.

No further details were immediately provided on the exact cause and circumstances of the explosion.  

Lake Elsinore is located about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles.