Over 24 hours after a gas main broke in South Hall County, Atlanta Gas Light crews were able to complete their repairs and begin restoring service to effected customers.
The situation was first reported around 9:00 p.m. Friday, about an hour after a similar incident in Jefferson, with Hall County Fire Services responding to a natural gas leak in the Braselton area. A representative with AGL said in an email that repairs were completed the following day around 11 p.m.
First responders arrived in the area of Friendship and Spout Springs roads late Friday and found a six-inch gas line leaking. The line was being fed by a 12-inch high pressure main, according to fire officials.
In an initial update Saturday morning, Hall County Fire Service Captain Zachary Brackett said Atlanta Gas Light workers remained on the scene.
"It is a 6 inch line that is approximately 15 feet deep in the ground. They have slowed the flow of gas from the line and are awaiting a larger piece of equipment to complete the repair. No injuries have been reported," Brackett wrote in an email.
Atlanta Gas Light crews arrived on the scene around 10:15 p.m. Friday and requested more help from within the company. Brackett said repair work could last into the mid-afternoon hours Saturday.
In the initial hour following the response, emergency crews asked people to avoid the area if possible. Sparta Way at Friendship Road was closured Friday night. Brackett said it remained closed Saturday morning.
Friendship Road is flanked by two grocery stores and several restaurants and other businesses along Spout Springs Road. Only two of those businesses were impacted, Taco Bell and Fresenius Kidney Care Braselton. Brackett said firefighters monitored the air throughout the night.
"The wind was favorable last (Friday) night. Also, just the distance that's involved between residential areas and where the leak is located, that and the topography of the area allowed the gas to dissipate before it really could gather anywhere," Brackett said.
The ordeal in south Hall County came after Jackson County Emergency Services crews evacuated the area of Business 129 near Blackstock Road in Jefferson because of a natural gas leak.
