A construction crew hit and ruptured a gas line in the vicinity of Washington Street and East Speer Boulevard, according to Phil Champagne of the Denver Fire Department.
Champagne said that the line is a major 12-inch gas line. The incident occurred about 2:15 p.m.
Champagne advised people to avoid the area.
Denver Police spokesman John White said the area closed to traffic is East 5th Avenue on the north, East 3rd Avenue on the south, Logan Street on the west and Emerson Street on the east.
Willa Burns, who lives in the 200 block of Pearl Street, said the smell of gas is powerful.
Burns can see the intersection of Speer and Washington from the back of her home. She said she first smelled the gas fumes about 2:20 p.m.
Champagne said that Xcel Energy has been called to turn off the gas.
Michelle Aguayo, spokeswoman for Xcel Energy, said that Xcel Energy considers the line a “main line,” one of the larger lines in the Xcel system. She said Xcel crews are on scene but she does not know if they’ve been able to turn the gas off.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
