(Spirit Lake)– Some tense moments late Friday afternoon on the south side of Spirit Lake.
A subcontractor working on the Hill Avenue South Project accidentally hit a natural gas main with a trencher at the corner of 29th Street and Hill Avenue shortly before 5:00 p.m.
Spirit Lake Fire Chief Wally Jorgenson says firefighters and law enforcement were called to the scene as a precaution. Jorgenson says no one was evacuated, but no traffic was allowed in or out of the area as crews with Aquila worked to pinch off the line.
Jorgenson says they were extremely fortunate in that there were no sparks or no fire. He says the weather was extremely cooperative. Jorgenson says a northwest wind and low relative humidity allowed the natural gas to quickly disperse. He says the situation would have been much worse had it been very warm and humid with little or no wind.
Crews with Aquila had the main repaired around 9:00 p.m. and started going door-to-door in the affected area turning gas meters back on and re-lighting pilot lights.
A spokesman with Aquila tells KUOO news about 62 customers were affected on 29th, 30th, 31st and 32nd streets along with portions of Pinewood and Keokuk Avenues.
Firefighters were on the scene about two and-a-half hours.
