Portion of Wheatley, Ont., evacuated for gas leak 4 years after gas explosion rocked town
CBC
More residents of Wheatley, Ont., have now been evacuated from their homes after first responders found hydrogen sulfide gas "bubbling" in the area near the community's library.
In a statement released Thursday evening, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent said the evacuation zone had been expanded beyond Foster Street to include all residents within 100 metres of the site, for a total of 60 homes. An evacuation centre has been established.
"The evacuation site, located at 196 Erie St. N, will be open to affected residents for the duration of the evacuation. No timeframe has yet been established," the municipality said in a statement.
Chatham-Kent's fire chief reported on social media Thursday afternoon that crews responded around 1:45 p.m. to reports of "a strong smell of gas."
"When we arrived, we found an area at the back of the library that is bubbling with water and gas coming up, which we confirmed is hydrogen sulfide," said Chief Chris Case on X.
Teams on site now include Chatham-Kent first responders, as well as employment and social services, victims services and local utilities.
The municipality also noted a hazardous materials team from Windsor and geological scientists from the University of Windsor are attending, as are representatives from the ministries of environment, natural resources and emergency preparedness.
Parts of downtown Wheatley were levelled in 2021 when an abandoned gas well exploded injuring 20 people.
Last October, town officials announced that the well, at 17 Talbot St. E., had been drilled, cased and cemented, and a monitoring well established in 2021 had stopped venting gas, including hydrogen sulfide.
The officials said at the time they were "optimistic" that gas emission issues in the area may be resolved.
"We know this is a terrible thing to happen again, however all the agencies are here working so we just ask for your co-operation while we try and work out what's going on and try and get the best result we can," Case said on Thursday.
Hydrogen sulfide is a colourless gas with a characteristic rotten egg smell that can be released from wastewater treatment systems, oil and gas facilities, livestock operations, pulp and paper mills and mining operations, according to information on the Health Canada website.
WATCH | Downtown Wheatley gas explosion from summer 2021:
It can also be released from inactive oil and gas wells.
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