Provo gas leak cuts service for several hours

PROVO — A construction accident that severed a gas line cut service to 33 homes in northeast Provo for several hours before crews were able to repair the pipe.

Around 1 p.m., police got a call about the smell of gas in the residential area of Imperial Way.

Provo fire crews discovered that construction workers had been hammering some type of rod into a grassy field on Imperial Way when they hit a line, said acting Provo Fire Battalion Chief Debby Honeycutt-Shepherd.

Provo officials couldn't determine the size of the line, but they heard a hissing sound and smelled a strong scent of natural gas in the area, Honeycutt-Shepherd said.

When Questar employees arrived, they were able to dig down to reach the severed, 2-inch gas line and repair it by 4 p.m., said Questar spokesman Darren Shepherd.

Despite the loss of gas service, no gas actually entered the homes, and no one was injured, Shepherd said.

When fire crews first arrived, they went to the two nearest homes to evacuate the residents but found the houses already empty. Officials told neighbors in homes father away to stay inside and notify police if they began smelling gas in their homes.

During the repairs, fire officials blocked off Imperial Way from Windsor Drive to Mile High Drive.

— Sara Israelsen-Hartley