BREAKING NEWS: Evacuation ordered for neighborhoods near Shoun Trucking on Tennessee 126

UPDATE: BRISTOL, Tenn. – The driver of a bulldozer that smashed into a gas pipeline, sending natural gas shooting into the air just feet from Tennessee Route 126 between Bristol and Blountville on Friday, was nowhere to be found when emergency responders arrived.

Authorities worried that any spark could ignite the volatile gas, sending a “giant torch” of fire into the air, well above the tops of power lines.
The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office activated their reverse 911 system, which called the home phone number of some 400 houses a mile in any direction to alert them to evacuate. Deputies then went house-to-house on foot to the handful of homes in the immediate vicinity.

The accident happened right in front of Shoun Trucking Co. at 1247 Highway 126, about 4:30 p.m. when a front-end loader tore a 3-inch hole in the 4-inch plastic pipeline, said Lt. Mark Murph with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office.

The high-pressure pipeline carries 60 pounds of natural gas pressure, said Joel Ames, public affairs manager for Georgia-based Atmos Energy, which serves the Bristol regional area.

While crews from the energy company repaired the line, the Sullivan County Volunteer Fire Department was on hand in case of an explosion. Sheriff’s deputies, state troopers and Bristol, Tenn., police officers diverted traffic, cutting off a two mile stretch of 126 from Rock Road to Walnut Hill Road.
“We just don’t want you to blow up,” they told frustrated drivers making u-turns in the roadway. They let through only those people pleading to save elderly relatives trapped inside the danger zone, advising them not to “hang out.”

Murph said an natural gas explosion can spread fire quickly – up to several blocks in any direction.

It’s the second time this year Sullivan County has used the reverse 911 system; the first was back in March when a man strapped a home-made bomb to his body just off Weaver Pike.
On Friday, the stretch of road reeked of gas into the evening. Authorities on the scene said while the darkness made the substance invisible, it could be heard pouring out of the pipe.
There was some disagreement among firefighters as to what that sounded like: comparisons ranged from “big, roaring wind” to “waterfall” to “jet engine.”

Meanwhile, crews from Atmos Energy clamped and bypassed the rupture area of the pipeline, which escorts natural gas to about 50 homes “downstream” of the accident in Blountville. Those homes should not have any disruption.

The repair work was an arduous task, requiring 4-foot-deep holes dug yards away from the incident site to expose the plastic pipe. Then, the workers “squeeze” the pipe with a hydraulic clamp so the gas can be diverted into an undamaged pipeline.
Ames said the company crew had the danger under control within a half hour of arrival, but they left evacuation decisions up to local authorities.
After the broken pipeline was discovered, hundreds of cars were turned away on both sides, just in time for rush hour.
“The shame of it is, it’s so avoidable,” Ames said. “This kind of damage, by outside parties, is the primary cause of disruptions and service breaches.”
State law requires everyone to call 811, the statewide “call before you dig” toll-free number, 72 hours before any digging project starts. The alert allows utilities to come out and mark where the lines run: water in blue, natural gas in yellow and so on. Natural gas lines are generally 3 feet underground, Ames said, but cable and telephone are often shallower. Even someone taking a shovel to their backyard should call 811, he said.

There was no call made for Tennessee 126, gas company officials said.

When crews arrived, the bulldozer was sitting there, but its driver was nowhere to be found.
“We know the equipment is there, we know the damage is there,” Ames said. “But no person was around to explain how those two things are connected.”

By about 9:30 p.m., five hours after the incident, the gas was officially contained, roads were opened and families were allowed to return to their homes.

Ames said an investigation is pending.

| (276) 645-2531

UPDATE: 9:30 p.m.—Work crews have secured the natural gas line rupture. Emergency officials have reopened the closed roads and are allowing families to return to their homes.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Several neighborhoods along a mile-plus stretch of Tennessee Route 126 are under immediate evacuation orders tonight because of a natural gas line break.
Sullivan County emergency officials issued the evacuation order for neighborhoods from Walnut Hill Road to Rock Road just before 6 p.m., and immediately after a 4-inch natural gas pipeline was pierced by a front-loader.
Emergency officials said the pipeline is still leaking natural gas, and the situation is extremely volatile. They are urging residents to stay away until further notice.
Police officers also shut down 126 completely along that stretch. The underground gas pipeline was hit at Shoun Trucking on 126.
Sullivan County used its reverse 911 telephone system for the second time this year to let residents in the area know they should evacuate.
Ralph and Louise Harlan, who live on Rock Drive, were among those who received the recorded phone messages on their home phones.
“It said, ‘If you are receiving this message, evacuate due to a national gas leak at Shoun Trucking,’ ” said Ralph Harlan, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 10 years.