LONGVIEW — Someone cleaning a clogged sewer pipe accidentally ruptured a natural gas line in Kelso on Monday evening, leading to the utility district shutting off power and fire crews evacuating about 40 homes.
Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue said crews arrived within five minutes after a report of the leak around 6:30 p.m. Monday in the 800 block of Ayers Street. Cascade Natural Gas reports the line was secured by 8:30 p.m. and homeowners returned back to their residences about 30 minutes later.
The Cowlitz County Public Utility District turned off local power to prevent igniting leaking gas, added the fire district. Cowlitz 2 said power was restored by 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue said hazmat crews were deployed because technicians suspected gas might have leaked into the sewer system. However, Cascade Natural Gas reported the leak was only isolated to one homeowner’s sewer and gas lines.
Cascade shut off the main gas line about a block away to stop the leak. Cowlitz 2 Battalion Chief Bert Thayer said Cascade crews accessed the line by digging near the home using an excavator. He said crews also capped the line to the residence to prevent any gas from reaching the location.
Three Cowlitz 2 hazmat technicians, a hazmat vehicle with supplies like air monitors, and two fire engines were deployed to the scene, as well as the Kelso police and public works department crews, reports Cowlitz 2.
Cascade Natural Gas spokesman Mark Hanson said when the line was hit, a mechanism to slow the flow of gas was triggered.
Hanson said the sewer and gas lines intersected, causing a homeowner to hit the natural gas line when trying to clear a sewer blockage. Cowlitz 2 said the reporting party used a powered sewer snake to clear debris. When they heard the line rupture, they turned off the gas meter and evacuated the house, reports Cowlitz 2.
Customers can call Cascade at 888-522-1130 to have crews verify gas line locations before working on possibly cross-bored sewer lines.
