UPDATE: Gas leak under investigation in Highland Park

4:17 PM: Thanks to the neighbors who texted about this: Seattle Fire is in the 8100 block of 15th SW (map), blocked off while a possible natural-gas leak is under investigation. One neighbor tells us they’ve been evacuated from their house and the street’s been blocked off. We’re en route to see if we can find out more.

4:32 PM: Puget Sound Energy (which is our area’s natural-gas utility) is on scene now to find out what happened and to shut off the gas; as our photo shows, they’re digging next to a hydrant. No injuries or damage. The street closure is just covering part of the block where this is happening, south of Elmgrove. It’s a residential street so no businesses are affected.

6:16 PM: Neighbors say they were allowed back in their homes by 5 pm; SFD has closed out the call.

Alan March 18, 2016 (5:19 pm)

There is a tree in front of the fire hydrant and some plants in plastic containers as if they had been moved or staged. I’m wondering if someone wasn’t getting ready to plant and hit a gas line. Sometimes the gas lines are not as deep as you would expect and also easier to pierce than you would hope.

JayDee March 18, 2016 (5:45 pm)

Exactly, Alan. I’d hate to be that homeowner if such was the case.

chemist March 18, 2016 (6:04 pm)

Surely wouldn’t be the tree Alan, because that could run afoul of Seattle’s codes about planting strips as that tree could be a sight obstruction within 10 ft of the driveway. CAM2304 clarifies the zone between 32″ and 82″ high must be clear of sight obstructions if they’re that close to a driveway.

WSB March 18, 2016 (6:15 pm)

Guys, please, we have NO idea what caused it, whether what you see in planters in our photo had ANYTHING to do with it or were originally anywhere near where they are in the photo. We checked this out because there was word of a road closure and we got texts from multiple people; we moved on to the basketball tournament and won’t be going back. Folks were back in their homes by 5 pm and SFD is gone, though PSE was still there at last report. Given what’s happened around here and elsewhere lately, we’ll be paying attention to gas-leak calls a little more than in the past, but given that it’s after 6 pm on a Friday, followup on this one will be unavailable – TR
- Alan March 18, 2016 (11:39 pm)
  
  I did not mean to blame. I know someone that hit a gas line while digging in the yard. He is a contractor and was shocked at how close to the surface it was. It is good for people to realize that it can happen more easily than they might imagine, even if that isn’t the case here.

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