Backhoe hits natural gas line, condo building in Kelowna temporarily evacuated

A condo building in Kelowna was temporarily evacuated Wednesday morning due to a natural gas line leak.

The incident happened in Rutland, along the 200 block of McIntosh Road around 10:30 a.m., with residents telling Global News that a backhoe was allegedly working on irrigation renovations when it struck the gas line.

A loud hissing could easily be heard as gas rushed from the ruptured pipe before work crews shut off the flow. Work crews arrived 20 minutes later and closed the flow around noon.

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“When the wind was in the right direction, you could smell the gas,” said resident Drew Metcalfe.

Part of McIntosh Road is undergoing widening, but the construction company doing that work said it had nothing to do with Wednesday’s gas leak, adding that the backhoe was a lone independent contractor.

Global News contacted FortisBC for more information.

The company confirmed the gas line was struck by an external party, and that it took about an hour to repair the damage.

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