BEND, OR -- A gas leak just south of Drake Park led to evacuations in the area, Thursday afternoon. KBND News spoke with Bend Fire Battalion Chief Dave Howe while he was at the scene on standby, as a precaution.
Howe said a company was drilling a new gas line under Riverfront Street using a technique that doesn’t require digging a trench. "They were drilling along and they hit a 2” gas line under pressure under these streets. In order to actually locate the leak, it took some time to dig around in the general area that they know it was and finally home in on it. At the same time, make sure the gas isn’t migrating into people’s basements, and also making sure people are actually evacuated out of the area."
29 homes were evacuated for about an hour while Cascade Natural Gas responded to shut down the line. "This is a potentially a very dangerous substance, and we want to take all the precautions that, not only that we need to take, but that we’re supposed to take to keep people safe. That’s our job," Howe said.
Riverfront Street was closed between Hixon and McCann all afternoon while crews repaired the break.
