What caused Negaunee, MI Explosion: Sonic Boom, mine caving grounds, earthquake faults and fracking
Channel: UpperPeninsulaBreakingNews Greg Peterson
Date: 2016-10-08

We have all heard of the Upper Peninsula's mining booms.
Well we still don't know what caused the loud boom at about 11:45 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 1, 2016 that turned people into the streets in the famous U.P. mining town of Negaunee – where iron ore was first discovered near the shores of Teal Lake and triggered a century plus mining boom that has stuttered in recent years with the closure of the Empire Mine.
The "boom" some called a loud explosion – happened a week ago tonight.
It shook windows, rattled nerves, and even brought numerous people out into the streets of Negaunee. It was many of those old mining houses whose timbers shook bad enough that worried residents called police.
Nobody seems to know what caused it: Earthquake fault, sonic boom from a jet, a cave-in in the old mining grounds that are fenced off – but can easily be breached as any teen in Negaunee will tell ya.
The first call – to the 200 block of East Peck Street – was reported as a "loud explosion" about 11:45 p.m.
And as the MSP Negaunee Regional Dispatch was sending Negaunee Police – a second  call was received at the Negaunee Police Department.
Police were sent to investigate after a resident of East Peck Street in Negaunee reported a “loud explosion” and saw “some smoke.”
“They heard the loud explosion and then saw the smoke but they could not tell where it was coming from – They were walking around the area,” a dispatcher told a Negaunee Police officer investigating the “explosion” and requested help finding the smoke.
Many of these calls are within a short distance of the huge caving grounds on Negaunee's east end – however witnesses claim the explosion or noise came from the west of this area.
Officers reported that residents on Case Street reported “they said it shook their car and their windows.” The officer said he'd continuing looking and that witnesses said it happened “west of where I am here.”
“There are neighbors outside everywhere, so keep searching,” the Negaunee officer said.

Another resident said it sounded like the explosion was even west of Teal Lake Avenue – the main drag into town.

U.P. Breaking News have reached out to the U.S. Geological Survey (monitors earthquakes) and related groups but have not heard any reports of seismic activity. Not sure where the closest seismograph is located.

The USGS records did not show a seismic incident around that time or date – so U.P. Breaking News has sent in two official inquiries. U.P. Breaking News is attempting to reconstruct airline traffic at that time but it is unlikely that a jet capable of making a sonic boom would be listed as an official flight – as it is optional whether your private aircraft (never military) are tracked online by sites like Flight Aware

A police officer noted that lights in the area were still on – sorta ruling out a transformer. We also doubt it was CCI because of unusual time. 

Negaunee and Ishpeming are used to shaking as the mine usually sets off their daily explosions between 11:45 a.m. and noon – not 12 hours later in the dark.

The audio feeds and recordings are released under a Creative Commons License from U.P. Breaking News, Broadcastify and Radio Reference.

These are the FaceBook witnesses from Negaunee:
www.facebook.com/rebecca.porres/posts/10157639457855595
Rebecca Porres
www.facebook.com/rebecca.porres
Negaunee people: Does anyone know what the loud bang was last night? Sheriff, city police, and Ishpeming police were driving around for nearly an hour afterward. It rattled our house windows. Any shakes disturb our tanks so we had quite a few gallons of water on the basement floor :(
Tara White Visser:
I heard it too, but after looking out the window and not seeing anything, I didn't think anything of it and went back to sleep. If you find out what it was, let me know.
Rachel Talo-Lambertson:
We were just getting home when it went off. Looked like a lightening strike in the caving grounds, but it wasn't
Rebecca Porres:
Was it bright? Could it have been a really powerful firework? It would have to be really strong or underground to shake everything, but that might do it. Some of the mine blasts have made our chandeliers swing and jingle in the past and they were really far away.
Rachel Talo-Lambertson It was bright. We thought it was lightening/thunder. It wasn't, though. Then Steve thought maybe a transformer blew in that new house built in the caving grounds. Can't remember why, but he said it couldn't have been that either. All I know is that it was bright and really loud!
Tara White Visser I heard it too, but after looking out the window and not seeing anything, I didn't think anything of it and went back to sleep. If you find out what it was, let me know.
Rachel Talo-Lambertson:
We were just getting home when it went off. Looked like a lightening strike in the caving grounds, but it wasn't
Amie Liquia I heard there was an explosion on Case St
Lucas Heikes :
That close to us I heard a loud boom between 11 and 12 last might