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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gas leak forces evacuation of downtown Spokane buildings

Employees of The Spokesman-Review were evacuated from the downtown building this afternoon after  gas leak was discovered on Monroe Street. (The Spokesman-Review)
Seven downtown Spokane businesses were evacuated today due to a ruptured natural gas line from city construction work. The Spokesman-Review, the adjacent Chronicle building and the Spokesman’s printing plant were evacuated, as were the Knitting Factory, the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, the Tamarack Public House and Inland Mortgage. Spokane police diverted traffic away from the area. Monroe is closed from Broadway to First Avenue, and Riverside, Sprague and First streets are closed between Madison and Lincoln streets. “Drivers are asked to avoid the area and find alternative routes,” police said in a statement. “Currently there is not an estimate as to when they will be reopened.” The evacuations began shortly after 2 p.m., and bystanders outside could smell the odor of the mercaptan additive in natural gas. Debbie Simock, an Avista Utilities spokeswoman, said a crew contracted by the city of Spokane hit a 12-inch gas main at Sprague and Monroe streets. The outage affected about 226 customers, Simock said. Avista crews are going to each affected business to manually turn off the natural gas at the meter. That work should wrap up around 10 p.m., and utility crews will be working through the night to repair the main, she said. Brian Coddington, a city spokesman, said the crew was doing routine work in preparation for next construction season, when that stretch of Monroe is set to be repaired. The workers were testing for “asphalt core drilling depths,” he said, and they hit the upcapped gas line that was closer to the surface than expected. None of the workers was injured or sickened in the accident, Coddington said.
This story is developing and will be updated.