A few Thanksgiving pie bakers in Roland may have been out-of-luck last night after a natural gas line was ruptured in the community. Justin Foss of Alliant Energy says about 100 homes and businesses were evacuated shortly after a utility crew hit the line at about 15 ’til five last night.
“A contractor, a third-party, was doing some directional drilling yesterday in an alley in the town of Roland and that’s when they hit a line,” Foss says. Roland resients are back in their homes now. Utility workers have been going door-to-door since last night to restore natural gas service.
“Crews have to go inside and visit each individual home to relight the gas pilot lights on your gas water heater, maybe on your furnace and maybe on your gas stove,” Foss says. That means no baking — or turkey roasting — until the pilot light on that natural-gas-powered stove is relit.
“Regardless of the circumstances in this particular case, it’s a reminder that we try and let all our customers know to always call 811 before you dig so that you have as much chance as possible to make sure everything goes safely,” Foss says. Electric service was restored overnight and natural gas service should be restored to all homes in Roland sometime today.
As of 7:30 this morning, 50 homes were still without gas service.