A natural gas line break in Montrose resulted in traffic on Highway 3B being diverted through village streets Sunday afternoon.
Regional Fire and Rescue got the call just after midday that a line to a house at 715 10th Ave. had been ruptured. Firefighters from Fruitvale and Montrose were called out, and regional Chief Terry Martin also attended.
“Apparently, one of the residents in Montrose was digging for a fence and ruptured the gas line to his house,” said Capt. Tim Hamilton.
Eight residences near the house were evacuated. A FortisBC Gas employee arrived at 12:45 p.m. to shut off the line, Hamilton indicated.
Traffic was diverted off the highway and through the village until shortly before 2 p.m.
Montrose Mayor Griff Welsh, who lives a block away, was unaware of the incident when contacted later Sunday afternoon. He was having his afternoon nap at the time and didn’t hear anything, he said.
“It couldn’t have been much, because they would have contacted me under the disaster plan,” he told the Times.