The Canadian Broadcasting Company is reporting that thousands of Canadians are without power or heat after a natural gas pipeline exploded on Saturday.

Witnesses told the CBC that there were “massive 200 to 300 metre high flames just shooting out of the ground and it literally sounded like a jet plane. And that’s the thing that really got us, was the sound of it.”

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Another witness said, “I thought there was a fire, but the way it lit the sky, it was like the sun coming up. The only thing is it was flashing. It would get brighter, get dim, get brighter, go dim. It lit up the whole sky here for half an hour.”

Local authorities issued a state of emergency, as over 4,000 residents are having to brave sub-zero temperatures without the benefit of heat or power. City warming centers have been set up for residents who are without heat.

It is not known why the pipeline, which is owned by TransCanada, exploded.

Watch video of the explosion below.