Update June 13, 8:00 a.m. – 

Things are back to normal after a gas leak in the Juniper Ridge area of Kamloops yesterday afternoon led to the evacuation of at least eight homes.

Kamloops Fire say they responded around 4 p.m. to the 2000 block of Qu’Appelle Boulevard, and Platoon Captain Mike Haines says a gas line was ruptured during construction.

“Crews on scene made a determination that a tactical evacuation around the area should be done. RCMP assisted with that,” he said. “Fortis was contacted to deal with the gas leak and we kept the area clear. The scene was cleared at about 6:30 pm. Residents were allowed to return.”

Haines is reminding people to always contact BC One Call before doing any digging to prevent these kinds of incidents.

“I mean these are accidents. Gas lines are in a lot of places you don’t expect, and they can be very close to the surface so even digging a sprinkler system in, you could hit a gas line,” Haines added. “So its always something to look into before you start doing things around your yard.”

Vehicle and pedestrian access on Qu’Appelle Boulevard, west of Highland Road was restricted for some time due to the incident.

Original – 

Kamloops RCMP say a natural gas main been hit in the 2000-block of Qu’appelle Boulevard in Juniper Ridge at a condo construction site, and a number of homes in the area have been evacuated.

Mounties have been called in to close nearby streets, and BC Transit is also being advised that the bus number 16 will be affected because of a road closure.

Staff Sgt. Mat van Laer confirmed that no vehicle or pedestrian access is being allowed on Qu’appelle Blvd west of the Highland Road roundabout until further notice, to allow for the leak to be fixed.

Kamloops Fire and FortisBC are responding.

We’ll have more information to come as this story develops.

– With files from Victor Kaisar