Gas leak prompts evacuations in Layton

Authorities in Layton said they had to evacuate five homes Thursday afternoon because of natural gas leak there. By mid-evening all residents were allowed to return to their homes.

Layton fire spokesman Doug Bitton said construction crews doing utility work at about 1:15 p.m. near 2200 West and Antelope Drive accidentally struck at 4-inch natural gas pipeline while boring into the street.

He said the leaking gas saturated several area storm drains, prompting the mandatory evacuation of five homes in the area as a precaution.

Bitton said Questar gas crews had responded to the scene and were able to isolate the break and fix it by 5 p.m.

Because of the leak, there was a major traffic back up on Antelope Drive during commute time. Officers from Clearfield and Layton City directed traffic until the leak was repaired.

Emergency crews were monitoring it Thursday evening to make sure the area wasn't still saturated with gas. As of 7:30 p.m., all residents were back in their homes, Bitton said.

No one was injured and Bitton said all the residents gladly left their homes when asked.

Janelle Stecklein

Cimaron Neugebauer contributed to this report