Eight homes evacuated in North Van, part of Mountain Highway closed due to gas leak

Mountain Highway was closed between Crown and Rupert streets and eight homes in the Seylynn neighbourhood were evacuated Wednesday morning due to a gas leak from a damaged gas line.

The leak happened after a contractor working on Rupert Street hit a two-inch natural gas line with an excavator, damaging the line and causing the leak.

A District of North Vancouver Fire & Rescue crew responded and evacuated eight homes in the immediate areas of the leak, said assistant fire Chief Scott Ferguson.

Gas was also shut off to 326 homes in the area as Fortis BC crews worked to fix the leak.

Mountain Highway was closed until early Wednesday afternoon, as a precaution, before re-opening to traffic.

Once the leak has been fixed, Fortis BC crews were expecting to visit affected homes and businesses to turn gas back on at the meter and relight all affected gas appliances.