Where There's Smoke Over Downtown Dallas ... There's What, Exactly?

Moments ago, an enormous plume of smoke was visible from Unfair Park HQ -- at Maple and Oak Lawn -- over downtown Dallas. (The picture above was taken a few minutes after staffers first saw the smoke. By 4:48, it has almost entirely dissipated.) And while we're not quite sure...

By Robert Wilonsky

October 26, 2007

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Moments ago, an enormous plume of smoke was visible from Unfair Park HQ -- at Maple and Oak Lawn -- over downtown Dallas. (The picture above was taken a few minutes after staffers first saw the smoke. By 4:48, it has almost entirely dissipated.) And while we're not quite sure what caused it, KTVT-Channel 11's Web site does contain the following breaking-news alert: "Dallas Police have closed downtown streets in the area of Elm & Akard because of a suspicious device found on a DART bus. One man is in custody and police are dealing with the device." KXAS-Channel 5 has video. Developing. --Robert Wilonsky

Update: At 5 p.m., all the local affiliates had live video of the bus, which sits cordoned off at Elm and Akard. The bomb squad's coming in, and traffic's been rerouted throughout downtown and is, to put it mildly, an unholy mess. "A parking lot," says KXAS-Channel 5. As for the cause of the smoke, no word.

Updating the Update: At 5:44, KTVT reported "the device was not dangerous." Which still doesn't explain the smoke.

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