SANFORD, Fla. — Investigators in Seminole County are working to determine what caused a gas pipeline explosion early Thursday morning.

Flames shooting up to 200 feet into the air could be seen from miles away after a 12-inch gas transmission line burst near the Black Bear Wilderness area in Sanford at about 1 a.m. Eastern Time, sparking an explosion.

Environmental officials have put out a pollution notice for the area.

No one was injured, and no properties were damaged.

"This could have been a lot worse,” Seminole County Fire Chief Otto Drozd said. “Certainly anyone watching the incident, it did look really bad from a distance, but there really was no exposure in the immediate area.”

More than 800 homes near Michigan Avenue and Oregon Street were evacuated as a precaution but residents were allowed to return home later.

Crews eventually shut down the valve to that line remotely.

Seminole County Fire Chief Otto Drozd said the situation could have been a lot worse. (Justin Soto, Spectrum News staff)

"When a gas transmission line leaks, that it was burning is much better because it's burning up that gas that can migrate into different areas,” Drozd said.

“So at the point that they shut the valve and the gas burnt itself out, the hazard was removed."

A closer look at the flames shortly after the explosion. (Courtesy Robert Harrell)

Fire officials said the gas company or law enforcement will be working to figure out the source of the leak, which could have been caused by static electricity from lightning.

The leak did cause some small brush fires in the area, but those were small and put out quickly, officials said.

Gas service had to be shut off to some customers in Sanford, Lake Mary, Longwood, and Winter Springs, Florida Public Utilities said, but service to most cutomers had been restored by the end of the day. Any customers without natural gas service or customers who smell natural gas should report it to FPU at 1-800-427-7712, the company said.