Hazmat crews swarmed a neighborhood just west of Rice-Eccles Stadium Tuesday after a natural-gas leak forced roughly 10 homes to evacuate and shut down a chunk of the surrounding street grid. The leak was pinpointed near 1200 East and 500 South, prompting fire crews to close off roads and keep a close eye on nearby houses for dangerous gas buildup.
According to Fox 13 Now, “Approximately 10 homes have been evacuated,” as hazmat teams converged on the area to assess the danger. The Salt Lake City Fire Department had hazmat crews on site at the leak, and firefighters were monitoring homes in the area for elevated gas levels, the station reported. Enbridge Gas was also en route to the scene, per the seed reporting from ABC4 Utah.
Streets Shut Down Across Several Blocks
The closures stretched well beyond the immediate leak site. 1200 East was shut down between 400 South and 500 South, and westbound traffic on 500 South was reduced to a single lane, the outlet's report states. Telemundo Utah additionally reported that Douglas Street remained closed north of 500 South, adding another layer to the traffic snarl rippling through the neighborhood.
Despite the street closures, commuters got at least one piece of good news: TRAX was expected to continue operating as normal, according to the same fire-crew account relayed by the station. Fire officials estimated the closures would remain in place in the area for at least an hour, though the situation remained fluid as crews worked to secure the scene.
What Residents and Drivers Should Know
Anyone near 1200 East and 500 South should plan for detours and expect to steer clear of the blocked streets while crews continue their work. The scope of the evacuation and the exact timeline for reopening roads had not been detailed beyond fire officials' hour-long estimate at the time of these reports.
