A gas leak has been contained, following a District alert urging residents between Second and Third Avenue at Victoria Street to shut their windows and doors.
As of 3:19 p.m. the municipality said that crews are wrapping up repair work. Victoria Street will remain partially closed in the meantime.
Earlier today, the municipality said emergency crews were responding to an incident at the alleyway between Second and Third, and the site was closed to traffic.
Squamish Fire Rescue was on the scene. There were no evacuation orders at the time.
The municipality said those steps were cautionary.
FortisBC spokesperson Diana Sorace said the cause was a third party doing construction on a laneway house. In the process, they damaged a pipe.
The utility’s crews are on site.
“We're assessing the damage and then we're going to work to repair that gas line,” said Sorace at the time.
“What happens is when our line is damaged, natural gas leaks from the line until we can repair it. And the safest way is to let gas vent into the atmosphere. And then when we know what the repair needs to be done, we repair that line and stop the leak. And it doesn't look like there's any impacts to customers right now. It's in a laneway. We’re just working through assessing the damage.”
Sorace added that it’s important for people to contact BC One Call before digging, as most pipeline damage is preventable.
As of 2:35 p.m., the municipality said Fortis is continuing its work in the area, which remains closed. Officials are asking the public to stay away from the area. The work is expected to take most of the afternoon.
More updates will be provided if and when information becomes available.
