Road reopened, evacuations lifted after gas leak near Vegas and Decatur
A gas leak disrupted business and traffic Monday afternoon near the intersection of Vegas Drive and Decatur Boulevard.
A third-party contractor, which was working on repaving Vegas Drive just west of Decatur Boulevard, hit a Southwest Gas line while digging and caused the leak, said utility spokeswoman Cynthia Messina.
“They hit a large line, so we evacuated some nearby businesses and stopped traffic as a precaution,” said Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski.
Vegas Drive was closed from Decatur Boulevard to Michael Way from about noon to 1:30 p.m. Surrounding businesses were evacuated during the same time period.
“We were closed for almost two hours,” said Vegas Express Gas Mart employee Sammy McCombs. “We stopped selling fuel because of the leak, but not a lot of customers came by because the roads were closed.”
McCombs added that the evacuation was simple and that both the Fire Department and Southwest gas were proactive in making sure people stayed safe.
“When we were asked to evacuate, a representative from Southwest Gas came in and checked if there was any gas in the store,” McCombs said. “They came back after we reopened also to make sure everything was OK.”
“The leak happened right outside the door and we could see that it wasn’t that bad,” said Milford Automotive employee Mike Jones. “But in fear of what could happen, they asked us to evacuate. It was no big deal, we just left and had lunch.”
Jones also said that it was a simple evacuation and added that it did not represent major business losses for Milford Automotive.
There were no injuries or fires in connection to the gas leak, according to the Las Vegas Fire Department.
The utility shut off gas in the area and gas line repairs were expected to be finished by 8:30 p.m. Monday, Messina said.
Review-Journal writer Cassandra Taloma contributed to this report.
Contact Maria Agreda at magreda@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391.
