ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (KFGO) – A driver was arrested and homes evacuated after a crash caused a natural gas leak north of Alexandria overnight.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a crash around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 4 in the 4800 block of County Road 42 NE. Deputies say a vehicle hit a natural gas overflow pipe on the east side of the road.
The person who reported the crash told dispatchers they could hear the natural gas leak from their home.
The driver of the vehicle, 42-year-old Samantha Jo Porter of Carlos, Minnesota, was arrested. Deputies say alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.
First responders say the gas leak was “very significant.” Homes in the area were evacuated and power was shut off as a precaution.
CenterPoint Energy crews say the outage for approximately 525 customers in the Carlos and Alexandria area could last into Friday, Dec. 5.
Carlos City Hall, located at 109 1st Street West in Carlos, will be available for area residents as a warming center starting at 1:00 p.m. Thursday and continuing into the night. CenterPoint staff will be on site to provide space heaters to affected customers.
“With below zero temperatures expected Thursday and ongoing cold over the coming days, CenterPoint wants to assure customers that the company will work quickly to safely make repairs and restore service as soon as possible. The company encourages customers to use their personal emergency plan to stay safe and warm today and potentially overnight,” the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said.
CenterPoint is assessing the damage and working with local officials and emergency first responders to make the area safe. The company is working to repair its infrastructure safely and as quickly as possible to minimize the number and duration of outages.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says this incident is causing significant traffic delays due to roads being closed for an extended period of time.
County Road 42 and County Road 11, along with Old County Road 120 and E Lake Carlos Dr. NE are closed, and traffic should avoid the area.
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