AURORA – A gas leak prompted an evacuation in parts of Aurora Thursday morning, but no injuries were reported, according to the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office.
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AURORA – A gas leak prompted an evacuation in parts of Aurora Thursday morning, but no injuries were reported, according to the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office.
The leak was reported at 10:20 a.m. Thursday in the 100 block of Kennedy Drive in Aurora, Assistant Sheriff Scott Sebring said.
“A local electric construction company hit the (natural gas) line while digging in the area,” Sebring said.
“He was doing everything by the book,” said Bob Hill, Brookings County emergency manager. “In South Dakota, to dig, you have to have a permit, an A11 permit, and they had that on hand. The area, when I got there, had yellow flags, which means that Northwestern (Energy) had marked where the pipelines were in the area.”
Hill said the boring machinery must’ve hit the line.
“Danger point on a gas leak is when the pipe is first hit,” he said. “Once they realized they hit a pipe, they shut it down and got out the equipment; we can work safely around it.
“When I showed up there, the Aurora Fire Department was walking around in their masks and air tanks with air meters ... to see if there was any build up in the houses,” Hill said. “They all did a good job. So did all the first responders.
“At least one home had to be entered – it was unoccupied – to check for gas. It was the one closest to it, where the wind was blowing,” Hill said, adding windows were open. “There was gas in there, but not to dangerous levels.”
Hill did not have an estimate on the number of people evacuated.
“Several homes in the area of Rasmussen Street, Kennedy Drive, and Truman Drive were evacuated as a precautionary measure,” Sebring said.
Hill said people were told to go into town as no evacuation center had been set up.
“Northwestern Energy was able to contain the leak, and residents were allowed back into their homes approximately two hours after being evacuated,” Sebring added.
“Big response,” Hill said, noting Northwestern Energy was on site by the time he arrived. “Northwestern probably had four trucks there. They took it serious, which they should’ve.”
Also responding were the Aurora Fire Department and Brookings Ambulance.
Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.
