A weekend work crew that ruptured a natural gas line while digging a trench in the field behind Walmart either failed to heed the cardinal rule of “call before you dig,” or was given wrong information relating to a gas line location.
A loud hissing sound could be heard hundreds of metres from the scene of the July 5 incident, beginning just after noon. The sound was the only indicator that something had gone dangerously wrong in the dig, as the invisible and odorless gas continued to escape at dangerous levels.
The fire department quickly attended the scene and cordoned off access from Main St. south.
No homes were evacuated and access to the upscale subdivision was still available from the Caribou Trail S.W. side. Workers from Atco Gas soon arrived on the scene, along with more emergency response teams and the threat was quickly downgraded.
Specialists were due to arrive from Peace River within a couple of hours.
No one was available for comment over the weekend, though more information is expected to be forthcoming.

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