PULLMAN, Wash. — A natural gas outage near Pullman is prompting many businesses and school districts to shut down for Thursday.
Avista said crews were alerted of the leak impacting the Williams Pipeline natural gas system Wednesday afternoon. That pipeline is one of several natural gas pipeline companies that Avista contracts with for wholesale transportation of natural gas.
Crews have to disconnect gas service to impacted customers. Avista says the leak will affect customers in the Pullman, Moscow, Albion, Palouse, Union-Town, Colton, Genesee, Troy, Bovill, Deary, Asotin, Lewiston and Clarkston regions. Crews have to go to each individual gas meter to make sure they are manually turned off. Avista said additional crews are being brought into the area to help restore services.
Avista says repairs are expected to be done by Thursday night. If everything goes to plan, Avista anticipates being able to start the relight of natural gas appliances on Friday.
While it isn't necessary, homeowners and business owners can turn their own valves off at the meter if they feel comfortable doing so. To turn the valves off, locate the shut-off valve on the pipe near the gas meter. Then, use a large wrench to give the valve a quarter turn in either direction. When the valve runs crossways to the pipe, the line is closed.
A video from Avista explaining the process can be viewed here.
"This is our top priority at Avista. All available Avista crews and a significant number of contractors and partner utilities are being mobilized to restore natural gas services as quickly and safely as possible,” said Dennis Vermillion, Avista CEO. “We will provide more updates as the process continues. We know this incident has caused hardship for our customers. We are grateful for everyone’s patience and please know we are working around-the-clock to restore services."
Avista has described the incident as the largest natural gas outage in its history. 37,000 customers are said to be affected.
The outage near Pullman and Colfax has prompted the City of Moscow to close all non-essential business offices on Thursday, Nov. 9. Officials said many of the city's buildings are unable to be heated, as they are usually heated with natural gas.
The city says all essential and emergency services will remain in operation, as well as the city's utility and sanitation services.
In addition to the City of Moscow, the University of Idaho will be cancelling classes Nov. 9 and Nov. 10. Non-essential offices at the university will also be closed. Students can check their email for updates, according to U of I.
Several school districts have announced they will be cancelling Thursday classes due to the gas leak.
Here are the school districts that have reported closures so far:
- Lewiston School District
- Whitepine Joint School District
- Genesee Joint School District
- Troy School District (Will be closed Friday, Nov. 10 as well)
- Moscow School District
- Clarkston School District
- Garfield-Palouse School District (The closure only impacts the Palouse School District, Garfield remains open)
Those schools won't have access to heat because of the gas leak, prompting the cancellations.
Pullman Mayor Glenn A. Johnson issued an Emergency Declaration Wednesday night due to the regional natural gas outage. Non-essential operations are suspended at city buildings in Pullman, including city hall. Pullman Transit will continue to operate during the natural gas leak.
"We appreciate the hard work and prioritization that has been placed on mobilizing to address this incident. I remain confident in Avista’s safety record and ability to bring about a timely resolution while the City maintains public safety operations to our community," Pullman Mayor Glen Johnson said.
Most of Washington State University has been switched to an alternative heat source and will remain open and operational. The school's Compton Union Building at Washington State University will remain open for faculty, staff and students whose heating may be affected by the outage.
This is a developing story. Please stick with KREM 2 News for the latest updates.
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