Emergency crews responded to a call of a gas leak in Washington Monday morning. At about 10:45 a.m., authorities were notified of a gas leak in the 100 block of North 15th Avenue in Washington. As heard live from the scene on KCII, North 15th was closed to traffic from Washington to East 2nd Street while crews worked to fix the issue. People were asked to avoid the area. According to Washington County Emergency Management, houses in a one-block radius were evacuated. Immanuel Lutheran Church opened its doors to those who needed a place to go.

According to Alliant Energy, the city was repairing a water main leak in the area and hit a gas service line. The gas then leaked underground into the sewer system and into a basement across the street. Electricity had to be turned off while crews repaired the leak and vented the gas from the sewers and basements. Repair work is underway and will be finished Monday afternoon. Gas was turned off in the area. Alliant Energy staff will need to relight customers’ pilot lights in the area and will be contacting those customers affected by the issue.

Washington Fire Department, Washington Police Department, and Alliant Energy responded to the scene.

Story updated at 1:05 p.m. 2/4/19