Lavington gas leak forces school closures

LAVINGTON – Some Lavington schools are closed Friday due to a major natural gas leak on Highway 6.

Superintendent of School District 22 Joe Rogers says JW Inglis and Charles Bloom Secondary schools will be shut down while Fortis B.C. completes repairs to the gas line. Lavington Elementary School remains open. Teachers and CUPE staff are asked to report to the school closest to their home for work.

A vehicle struck the high pressure gas line on Highway 6 near Park Lane Thursday morning, prompting a precautionary evacuation of an estimated 50-100 people. The evacuation order was lifted at 9:40 p.m. Thursday.

Fortis B.C. says repairs to the damaged gas line were completed as of 8:10 a.m. Nov. 21. Once the system is reactivated, natural gas technicians will visit more than 1,200 customers in Lumby to relight gas appliances. Fortis anticipates this will be complete by Saturday evening.

Fortis requires access to the home to relight appliances. If no one is home, Fortis service crews leave door tags that provide contact information (1-877-711-8877) for relights.

Visit the Fortis B.C. website for more information and updates.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.