Nearly a year has passed and little has changed at the home on Espanola Drive in Northwest Dallas, where a natural gas explosion killed 12-year-old Linda Michellita Rogers. Saturday, friends and family members remembered Rogers at a service at the family's church, Cristo Rey Presbyterian Church, on Northwest Highway. It's located five minutes from the home that exploded. The family is suing Atmos Energy accused it of gross negligence. As a lawsuit makes its way through the court system, what's left of the house still stands in ruins – a daily reminder of the young life lost. "Every day I look out and I see this," said neighbor Deanna Ward who still cries when she thinks of the Rogers family. "I just feel so sorry for them," said Ward After the explosion, Ward said she moved out of her house for a couple of weeks. Tired of staying in a hotel, she eventually returned home and lived without hot water and heat for around six weeks. "One day the plumber would be here for about an hour then he would go to another house without finishing here. It just took a while," Ward explained. Wednesday, Atmos Energy Corporation told NBC 5 in an email it has replaced 98 miles of pipe in the City of Dallas since the explosion on Feb. 23, 2018. The utility company says that’s 75 percent more lines replaced than 2017. The company said it also on-boarded 75 contract crews and filed plans to completely remove cast iron pipe by Dec. 2021. The pipe running along the homes in the Rogers neighborhood was not cast iron. The pipe was made of steel. And two other homes exploded one street over from the Rogers' home days before Feb. 23. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Atmos has more work to do to replace cast iron and older steel pipe. "These pipes are getting older, the ground is moving and we have to move to the newer pipe that is more forgiving and is not made out of metal that will corrode and weaken," said Jenkins. "We have to keep up the pressure to try to work with everyone to get the replacement expedited." Jenkins said he's called on Atmos to bring on additional contractors, even offering to host a job fair for eligible workers. He also wants to see Atmos provide current tracking of leaks and make it available to the public. "I'd like a real time map where you can plug in your address and see what the leaks are out there. We don't have that right now. I think if neighbors knew that, they'd feel a lot more confident in their safety," Jenkins explained. At the state level, State Rep. Rafael Anchia filed 11 bills that aim to increase oversight of natural gas companies. Jenkins said people concerned about the pipeline in their neighborhoods should reach out to state lawmakers and urge them to support legislation that would call for more accountability among utilities. In northwest Dallas, Ward said she feels safer knowing the pipeline in her neighborhood has been replaced. But, believes she'll always be extra cautious. "If I smell something that does not smell right, especially when I walk by my meter, I get a little nervous," Ward said. NBC 5's Meredith Yeomans contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Advertisement Family releases video of daughter's final moments before deadly house explosion Share Shares Copy Link Copy The family of a 12-year-old girl who died in a natural gas explosion at her Dallas home has released cellphone video the girl recorded in the minutes leading up to the blast.Linda “Michellita” Rogers is shown in three separate short videos last year preparing her hair and wearing her uniform in preparation for a cheerleading event.She speaks quietly so as not to wake her family in the early-morning hours. The last video, shot in hyper speed as she braided her hair, was recording when the explosion occurred Feb. 23.Her mother and three other family members escaped the rubble of the home with injuries. Michellita died at a hospital after being carried from the debris.Her autopsy report indicated she was in the living room at the time of the blast and exposed to its full force, The Dallas Morning News reported. Family members were in bedrooms with walls protecting them.The National Transportation Safety Board found that Atmos Energy had received complaints weeks before the explosion of gas leaks in the neighborhood. The company in a court filing has denied it failed to adequately respond to leaks in the area.“The heartbreaking incident on Espanola Drive that resulted in the death of 12-year-old Linda Rogers continues to weigh heavily on everyone at the company,” Atmos President and CEO Mike Haefner said in a statement Wednesday. “We live in the same communities where we work. Our families, friends and neighbors live in the very homes we serve. We are intensely dedicated to safety.”The family has sued Atmos for $1 million in damages and that lawsuit is pending.Atmos crews had been in the neighborhood several times in the week leading to the explosion, the newspaper reported, and there were two fires at houses that shared an alley with Michellita’s home.The incidents eventually led authorities to evacuate the neighborhood and Atmos shut off service to about 2,800 homes. At least 28 natural gas leaks were discovered in the area.Atmos said at the time that heavy rain, shifting clay soil and aging, inflexible steel pipes contributed to the leaks.Michellita was one of nine people who have died since 2006 when two dozen homes serviced by Atmos pipelines blew up in North and Central Texas, according to the newspaper. At least 22 more people were badly injured.Trending on AP NewsUS: Alabama woman who joined Islamic State is not a citizenOakland, California diocese names 45 accused of sexual abuseIowa governor opts not to appeal fetal heartbeat law rulingby Taboola<doc-sep>Stars Use 4-Goal Second Period To Dominate Blue Jackets 5-1Joe Pavelski scored his team-high 18th goal of the season as one of five Dallas players with a goal and an assist, and the Stars scored four times in 6½ minutes in the second period to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 on Saturday night.<doc-sep>Linda "Michellita" Rogers, 12, was recording herself getting ready for a cheer competition when her house blew up. Her family wants her death to be a call to action for Atmos to fix its gas lines. DALLAS — It's before sunrise, but Linda "Michellita" Rogers is already up. She’s talking in a near whisper, not wanting to wake her family. She’s hours away from a big cheerleading competition. It's Feb. 23, 2018. “Good morning,” she says in a 32-second video she's recording on her phone. “It’s 6:02 a.m. Friday. … I’m going to get ready. I'm going to start with hair, turn on my lamp because I don't want to turn on all of the lights...” In the second video, she’s dressed in her cheerleading uniform and still trying to contain her excitement. “OK, so I'm sorry if you guys can't hear me,” Michellita says in a near whisper. “But they're all sleeping.” The images of an excited 12-year-old happily chatting as she makes videos on her cell phone are heartbreaking to watch. Michellita Rogers has no idea her life is about to end. She’s fixing her hair in the third video, which is a time lapse. Three seconds in, there’s a flash of light, and one split-second frame of what appears to be a shower of sparks. It is the last image you see before the video fades to black. In that instant, her house explodes, and Michellita is fatally injured. (Click above link if viewing on mobile app) Over the course of three days, Atmos Energy’s leaking natural gas pipes caused three homes to explode last February. Michellita’s home was the last. Her family authorized the release of the videos to WFAA. As the first anniversary of her daughter’s death approaches this Saturday, Michellita’s mom Maria Rogers agreed to speak to WFAA hoping to spur lawmakers to make changes to prevent anyone else from dying in an explosion. State. Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, has filed a series of bills intended to strengthen the state's oversight of natural gas companies like Atmos, and make Atmos accelerate its replacement of aging cast iron, wrought iron and bare steel pipes in its sprawling system. “I don't want this to happen to another family,” Maria Rogers said. The National Transportation Safety Board issued a preliminary report that found Atmos was aware of leaks in the neighborhood for nearly two months prior to the series of explosions. NTSB investigators found a crack around a two-inch line behind Michellita’s home on Espanola Drive. The pipe failed pressure tests, the report said. “There’s been nine homes that have exploded in the Dallas area since 2006,” said attorney Ted Lyon, who along with attorney John Barr, represents the family in a lawsuit filed against Atmos. “Twenty people have been seriously burned and several have been killed," Lyon said. "They are consciously not taking care of their business. The only time they take care of business is when somebody burns to death or some house explodes.” After Michellita’s death, Atmos did evacuate thousands of neighbors and began a massive project to replace dozens of miles of pipe in that area of Dallas. Atmos blamed unusually heavy rains that they said caused significant underground shifting that resulted in numerous leaks. In a recent request to raise rates, Atmos said it had replaced almost 100 miles of aging steel and cast iron pipe in Dallas, but hundreds of miles of aging pipe still remain. “They’re gambling with people’s lives,” Lyon said, adding that this is the time of year when natural explosions often occur. This past November, a WFAA investigation revealed that Atmos lost, or can’t account for, tens of millions of dollars of natural gas flowing through its system. In Dallas County alone, since 2010, that's about $100 million worth of natural gas in its pipelines lost or unaccounted for, according to Atmos' own reports. State law allows the company to “recover” the cost for much of the lost or unaccounted for gas — specifically, the cost of gas lost or unaccounted for up to a 5 percent leak rate. “It incentivizes them to lose gas,” Lyon said. “It is a very bad system.” Atmos has previously offered condolences to the Rogers family. Beyond all the lawsuits and investigations, Maria Rogers is a grieving mother still overwhelmed by the loss of her child. Linda "Michellita" Rogers 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8 8/8 1 / 8 “Michelita was a princess,” she told WFAA. “Everybody loved Michellita.” Michellita had big dreams. She wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to cure cancer. She wanted to help people who couldn't afford to pay for medical treatment. “She says she wants to be the top, top, top doctor,” her mom said. Asked what she missed most about her daughter, she said: “Everything. Her heart. Her kisses. Her loss. Everything.” As she spoke, her husband put his arm around her and her eyes brimmed with tears. She could not bring herself to talk in detail about the events of that fateful February morning. Before their house exploded, the family said there was no inkling of the danger in their northwest Dallas neighborhood. She said she knew that a house on the street behind them had exploded one day earlier. She saw Atmos Energy trucks all over the neighborhood. “They never go house to house and knock on the door and say 'you need to get out because there's danger here,'” she said. Maria Rogers, her husband, teenage son and Michellita’s grandmother were in their beds asleep when the house exploded on Feb. 23, 2018. None of them smelled a thing. In several natural gas explosions, victims have told WFAA that they did not smell the natural gas. Experts call the phenomenon odor fade. Natural gas has no smell when it comes out of the ground. Companies like Atmos add a chemical to the gas giving it a smell like rotten eggs. But studies have found that, over time, as leaking natural gas travels through the soil, the smell can fade. In the aftermath of the explosion, Maria’s husband found Michellita’s body in the front yard.<doc-sep>
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) – Newly released videos show Linda Rogers, 12, getting ready for a cheerleading competition on the morning of Feb. 23, 2018. In a time lapse video she is doing her hair, then the first moment of an explosion before the camera goes to black. Her family wanted to share it with the public, hoping to urge Atmos Energy to improve safety. Mother Of Child Killed In House Explosion 1 Year Ago: ‘First Thing I Thought, Atmos Killed My Daughter’ The 12-year-old’s parents and brother were able to escape from the rubble of the home in the 3500 block of Espanola Drive. Rogers’ family’s attorney said the house filled up with natural gas. Dallas Fire-Rescue said two other house caught fire on the same block were Linda lived. Those are also blamed on gas. Three days after Linda’s death, Atmos Energy started evacuations and turning off the gas to eventually close to 3,000 homes. One year later, Atmos tells CBS 11 it’s replaced 98 miles of pipes in that neighborhood. “The way I see it, yes, it’s nonstop. Now I think they’re overdoing it,” said nearby neighbor Sergio Barragan. Barragan said he doesn’t believe Atmos’ version of events. Atmos said the pipe system in the Northwest Dallas neighborhood was performing properly before the explosion and heavy rains and shifting soil conditions in that neighborhood put enormous pressure on the pipes. Atmos said it continues to work in this neighborhood and across Dallas to replace cast iron pipeline and has accelerated those plans beyond what it would normally do. The National Transportation Safety Board found that Atmos had received complaints weeks before the explosion of gas leaks in the neighborhood. The report also confirmed that it was a cracked gas pipe behind the Rogers’ home that caused the deadly explosion. The company in a court filing has denied it failed to adequately respond to leaks in the area. (© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)