This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A gas leak in Cottonwood Heights on Wednesday afternoon forced the evacuation of 10 businesses.
A person who smelled gas reported a potential leak about 3:30 p.m. near 1850 East and Fort Union Boulevard, according to Questar spokesman Darren Shepherd. The evacuation impacted an area strip mall, Shepherd said, and began about 4:30 p.m. when Questar crews detected gas.
Authorities began lifting the evacuations about 7:15 p.m. A half hour later, only three businesses remained under evacuation orders.
At that time, Shepherd said Questar crews could no longer detect any gas in the area, though they were still uncertain what caused the leak in the first place. He added that crews hoped to finish investigating and correcting any problems by 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Shepherd said the leak could have been in a service line going into the strip mall or in the meter on the building itself.
Unified Fire Capt. Clint Mecham said fire crews also responded to the scene. He explained that gas leaking from buried lines can seep up through the ground and escape.
There were no reports of injuries.
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