Natural gas leak triggers brief evacuation on northside

By Brandi Makuski

Residents returned to their homes at about 11:30 a.m. after a brief evacuation on Wednesday morning due to a natural gas leak.

Assistant Fire Chief JB Moody said it was a city transit worker who called dispatchers to report “the strong smell of natural gas” in the area of Walker and Second streets shortly after 10 a.m. on Feb. 3.

A construction crew working in the area reportedly hit a gas line, prompting firefighters to initiated an evacuation over a one-block radius around the leak. A crew installing fiber cable for TDS was working in the area but it wasn’t clear if that was related to the leak.

Police and fire vehicles blocked off roadway access surrounding the leak for safety, Moody said.

Wisconsin Public Service quickly responded to the scene and turned off the gas main shortly after 11 a.m.

Moody said no injuries were reported.