Provo gas leak forces evacuation

PROVO — Emily Wankier didn't even have 10 minutes to grab things when Provo firefighters told her to get out of her apartment.

"No, you have to get out faster," they told her. So she scooped up her 2- and 4-year-old daughters and their coats and headed for the door.

"It makes me think I should be better prepared for emergency things," the young mother said as she was getting on a bus to be transported to a temporary shelter area.

Wankier was one of nearly 40 people who was told to evacuate just minutes after 10 a.m. from the Huntington Condos on 200 South and 100 West. The entire block from 100 South to 200 South and from 100 West to Freedom Boulevard was evacuated until about 1:30 p.m.

Just before 10 a.m., a resident smelled natural gas and called Questar Gas, said Provo Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Gary Jolley. When employees got there, they discovered a large quantity of natural gas pooled up outside the building but none inside.

After evacuating all the residents and ensuring there was no gas in the apartments, Questar crews began digging up the area around the condos looking for a source.

Jolley said they determined the gas leak came from an old service line that ran east to west in front of the condos. He said homes that were demolished to make way for the condos tapped into that service line and one of those taps was leaking.

"That's kind of the determination that they've come up with right now," Jolley said. "They'll go back in the future … (and) they'll re-evaluate things to see what they need to do in order to get it all taken care of."

He said Questar shut off the gas flow to the service line. Then, after waiting for the remaining gas to safely dissipate, crews cut and capped the line, rendering it inactive. Since construction, the condos have operated off a different service line on 100 North.

Nearly 20 people left with family members or friends when told to evacuate, Jolley said. Another 20, mostly women and young children, were transported via a loaned Utah Transit Authority bus to the Eldred Senior Center on 270 W. 500 North in Provo.

The Mountain Valley Chapter of the Red Cross coordinated relief efforts and lunch for the displaced residents, thanks to donations from McDonald's and Denny's.

Firefighters left the scene about 1:30 p.m., and residents were allowed to return.

Christiana Smith and Lauren Schwitters were two of the displaced residents hanging out at the Eldred Center Thursday. Smith said she got a call from the condo owner saying they might have to evacuate later, so to shower quickly if needed.

She jumped in and by the time she was out, firefighters were pounding on her door, she said. Her initial reaction was just to grab her purse and keys and get out.

"You don't really think about it until it happens," she said of emergency exits.

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com