A construction crew struck and ruptured a gas line along South Brooks Street in Wake Forest on Tuesday, triggering evacuations, a shelter-in-place advisory, and a street closure that stretched into the overnight hours. The rupture happened between East Owen Avenue and East Wait Avenue, sending emergency crews scrambling to the scene as officials urged nearby residents to stay put.
According to WRAL, town officials asked residents in the surrounding area to shelter in place until further notice as crews worked to address the ruptured line. The Town of Wake Forest confirmed that the line was caused by construction workers who struck it while working along the street.
Two local spots were cleared out as a precaution while the situation unfolded. Wake Forest Town Hall was evacuated, and so was Norse Brewing, the station's report notes, though authorities did not order any additional evacuations beyond those precautionary moves.
Street Closure and Safety Warnings
South Brooks Street was shut down between East Owen Avenue and East Wait Avenue, with the town's public works office urging motorists to avoid the area and choose alternate routes. Authorities said the road would remain closed until early Wednesday morning, and drivers downtown were urged to find other paths around the affected blocks, per the same account.
Anyone near the scene who smelled a strong natural-gas odor was urged to call 911 immediately. Officials said additional information would be released as it becomes available, leaving the broader community watching for updates on when the street would fully reopen.
A Recurring Hazard Tied to Digging Without Calling First
This is not the first time construction work has triggered a gas-line emergency in Wake Forest. In August 2022, construction crews ruptured a line along the 3800 block of Wild Meadow Lane, an incident that led to the evacuation of nearby townhomes while other residents were told to shelter in place; Dominion Energy crews sealed that leak around 3:50 p.m., according to WRAL's earlier coverage. More recently, in December 2024, a construction worker ruptured a gas line on East Roosevelt Avenue, closing the road in both directions and forcing the precautionary evacuation of a nearby CVS, as the outlet also reported at the time.
The pattern extends beyond Wake Forest. Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas reported nearly 4,500 damages to electric and natural-gas lines across their service territories between January and June of this year, including more than 1,300 damages to underground natural-gas facilities across five states, according to WCCB Charlotte. In 2025 alone, the utilities logged nearly 9,800 such damages. The companies continue to advise customers and excavators to call 811 at least three business days before any digging project, a step meant to prevent exactly the kind of rupture that shut down South Brooks Street.
