This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Questar crews had located and repaired a natural gas leak in West Valley City by early Wednesday morning, allowing dozens of evacuees to finally return home.
Some of the residents of 50 homes evacuated from the area of 3100 South from 4565 West to 4800 West stayed overnight at area motels, courtesy of Questar, said utility spokesman Don Porter. Others found shelter with friends and family.
The leak, reported just before noon on Tuesday, also closed down the nearby Monroe Elementary School, but its 700 students were cleared to return to classes on Wednesday, Granite School District confirmed.
Porter said the leak was located late Tuesday, and about 30 residents between 4400 West and 4650 West were allowed to return to their homes then.
Crews checked two suspect lines initially, but narrowed down the problem to one aging 3-inch natural gas line and repaired it by inserting a new 2-inch line.
"We think the original pipe has been leaking for a while, and, thank heavens, someone finally smelled gas and called it in," Porter said. "But the ground had built up a lot of gas over time."
Indeed, much of the work through the early morning hours Wednesday involved "evacuating the gas," Porter said, a time-consuming process that "basically involved hooking up a giant vacuum clear and vacuuming the gas out of the ground."
Remaining evacuated homes, between 4650 West and 4800 West were checked as dawn arrived and cleared for occupancy.
That allowed West Valley City to reopen 3100 South, though with some lane restrictions and Questar and public works crews finished up.
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