Ruptured Natural Gas Line Forces Evacuation In Cda

A backhoe slashed open a gas line Wednesday forcing the evacuation of hundreds of Coeur d’Alene workers and a group of school children.

GTE telephone company workers were trying to find a damaged underground cable near Prairie Avenue when their backhoe released fumes from a 4-inch natural gas line at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday.

No one was injured by the volatile gas that began leaking while most employees in the area already had left for lunch.

But “it smelled like a sewer,” said 11-year-old Krista Brand, one of 15 students who were evacuated from Grace Bible Academy.

“It was like rotten eggs,” said Barb Gilliland, another student, who crinkled her nose. “You could almost taste it.”

Much of Prairie Avenue has been closed because of construction. Jane Bright, of GTE’s Coeur d’Alene construction division, said her company has been installing cable, moving underground lines and putting in new manholes as part of a road widening project on Prairie.

On Wednesday, GTE was one of several companies working on Prairie Avenue near Franklin Street. Bright said the company rebuilding the road accidentally hit and damaged one of GTE’s underground cables. GTE had not been notified there was a gas line in the area when a backhoe operator and another employee started digging into the ground to make repairs, Bright said.

The backhoe then hit the gas line.

“They knew immediately and they were hoofing it,” Bright said. “They cut power to everything that was working.”

Emergency workers evacuated employees from 25 businesses in the area of Prairie Avenue and U.S. Highway 95. Kootenai County Disaster Services estimates 200 people were evacuated; WWP estimates about 500.

Most just took an extra-long lunch break.

Although the school children didn’t like the odor wafting through the air, the kids seemed plenty happy for an excuse to get outside.

“I thought it was cool,” said Jonathan Nielsen, 12, to the cheers of his classmates. “We figured we don’t have to go to school for the rest of the day.”

Teacher Matt Johnson wasn’t so sure.

“Let’s have a vote - who wants the day off?” called one student. All hands - except Johnson’s - flew into the air.

WWP employees, who had been working in the area when the gas line was punctured, were able to seal off the leak within 30 minutes. They then inspected each of the buildings using a gauge to make sure gas hadn’t accumulated inside.

Bright said GTE did check with the “Call Before You Dig” organization before workers started using the backhoe. But she said the organization did not tell them the gas line was in the area.

Pam Plummer, an assistant manager with “Call Before You Dig,” said she had not been notified about the gas leak and would not comment on why GTE apparently was not notified about the line.

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