On Wednesday, Jan. 12, Steamboat Fire Rescue, as well as a crew from Atmos Energy, responded to the strong smell of gas in the area around Clubhouse Drive and River Queen Lane.

“There was a break due to some construction,” Routt County Emergency Operations Director Mo DeMorat said after 5 p.m. Wednesday. “They should be beginning the repairs pretty soon.”

DeMorat explained that it was a big line, and the strong odor of gas could be smelled inside cars as drivers made their way through the area. He added that Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue or Atmos Energy had workers go into many dwellings in the area, and they did not detect any gas inside any residences.

“It looks like all the gas is just going outside from that one break, but there is a strong odor throughout the neighborhood,” DeMorat said.

The repairs had to wait to get crews in the area with the appropriate equipment to pinch the line on both sides of the break. DeMorat said officials decided that it was not necessary to evacuate the area or shut the gas off. He said crews will clear the line, and then pinch it off on both sides of the break.

“There was talk about that (evacuations) initially until we started going to some of the doors and getting some indoor readings. They made the determination that there wasn’t any gas leaking inside any houses,” DeMorat said. “We still have it on standby should we need to actually execute an evacuation, but at this time there’s been no actual evacuations required.”

John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.