A gas leak Saturday evening, Aug. 5, forced Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 firefighters to evacuate homes around the 1100 block of Northeast Gladys Drive, south of Sandstone Middle School.
According to Battalion Chief J.W. Roberts, the department evacuated three square blocks stretching from 10th to 12th streets on Gladys as well as north and south. He said occupants of a home within the area struck a 2.5-inch Cascade Natural Gas line with saws around 4:30 p.m. while digging tree stumps.
“They (Cascade) got called, and they called us,” Roberts said. “We had to evacuate part of this neighborhood, and they had to bring in some crews to isolate that gas line. Now they got it isolated, and they are fixing it.”
Along with evacuating homeowners, firefighters isolated the area by blocking traffic and monitoring for gas inside and outside the evacuation area, he said. Trent Waldern, who lives at N.E. 11th St. and Gladys, said firefighters evacuated him around 5 p.m.
“I just had the fire department come to the front door, knocked and said, ‘We got a gas leak just across the way. It’s a pretty major one and we need you to evacuate your house and move down this way,’ ” he said.
Residents were allowed to return to their homes around 7 p.m. No injuries were reported, Roberts said, adding that Cascade Natural Gas crews were expected to have the gas line fixed at approximately 9 p.m.
Cascade Natural Gas could not be reached for comment.
