A gasline break has closed West Coal Mine Avenue in south Jefferson County from South Kipling Street to South Wadsworth Boulevard.
The break was reported to West Metro Fire Rescue at about 10:30 a.m. today. A reverse 911 call was sent out to area homes and businesses to report any smell of natural gas.
Xcel spokesman Tom Henley said the 4-inch break is between South Independence Street and Wadsworth. There was no known cause for the break.
“There was no digging in the area. Sometimes gaslines just break,” Henley said.’
There were no reports of lost service, injuries or evacuations.
Repairs were expected to take most of the day.
At about noon today, West Metro personnel responded to Chatfield High School, 7227 S. Simms St., on a call that students were complaining of an odor and were feeling sick.
At first, fire officials were concerned the two situations could be related, although the school is more than a mile away from the gasline break.
West Metro spokeswoman Mick Trost said the high school was evacuated because a student shot off a can of Mace in the cafeteria.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
