Gasleck closes the street of the Gräbermühle in the forest; Evacuation ordered

Bedford County, Va. (WSET) – The Graves Mill Road and the Vista Center Drive in the forest open again on Thursday evening after a considerable gas leak. The incident occurred around 9:20 a.m. when a tractor-trailer in an underground propane tank of 1,000 gallons came back near the Ferguson HVAC building.

The Forest volunteer fire brigade was the first to react with additional support from the Lynchburg fire brigade and the Bedford County Fire and Rescue. Seven companies nearby were evacuated and the employees were instructed to leave the area. They were also advised not to start their vehicles for about two hours to avoid potential explosions.

Formerly: Evacuated building, graves Mill RD after the truck tank of the propane tank closed and gas leaks caused

“They are very dangerous in this amount; Propan is extremely flammable. The greatest thing we want to do is to isolate ignition sources and immediately evacuate the area in which it affects people or companies,” said Patrick Jessee, coordinator for dangerous materials from the Bedford County.

The crews took into account several options for managing the leak, including enabling the gas, to dissolve naturally or use a propane truck to derive the damaged tank. Due to the severity of the leak, however, they decided to fill the broken tank with water to increase the propan, which made it easier to derive.