Evacuations Lifted After Gas Line Hit On East Fremont Street

Albany County Emergency Management says residents and business owners can return to the area near the 400 block of East Fremont where a gas line was hit and started leaking on Tuesday afternoon

At the last report gas service had not been restored to the area, pending a restoration of service by Black Hills Energy, according to an Emergency Management release:

''The properties along the ally between 4th and 5th streets, and between Fremont and Clark streets will remain without gas services until Black Hills Energy can restore. If you smell gas upon return, please contact Black Hills Energy directly.''

Kate Allred of Emergency Management told Townsquare Media on Wednesday morning that her agency learned of the leak around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Allred said she wasn't sure exactly what happened in terms of the line being struck, but that Black Hills Energy was investigating. A text message to a spokeswoman for the utility on Wednesday morning was not immediately returned.

A Tuesday news release from Emergency Management mentioned that an alert about the situation went out to more people than had been intended: "The alert was geocoded to reach only the affected residents and business owners; however, it went out beyond the intended area of reach. We have been working to identify why this error occurred and have a case open with IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert & Warning System) to determine the cause. We apologize for any inconvenience that this widespread alert has caused.''

Gallery Credit: Nicole Sherwood