Digging causes gas line break Monday in Empire

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What could have been a very big mess late Monday afternoon will likely become more of a big utility bill, but at least no one was hurt.

Farmington firefighters were called out to a gas leak in Empire township around 3:45 p.m. Monday. Arriving at B&B Farms at the 2400 block of 170th Street, they found the owner had struck a main gas line while digging a hole next to a grain elevator on his property.

Farmington fire marshal John Powers said while digging workers cut into a high pressure six-inch gas main. Not only was the gas leak a problem, he said, but the gas main happened to be located within five feet of a high voltage electrical transformer. And if that were not enough, a 500-gallon diesel fuel tank and a couple of silos were close by, as well.

The area of the leak was evacuated. Two Farmington fire trucks and several fighters were on standby — with the protection of two buildings between them and the hole — just in case of an explosion.

Fortunately, the explosion never happened. Xcel Energy sent a crew to the farm to turn off the electricty to the area. With that done, a Minnesota Energy Resources crew was able to dig up the gas line and make repairs.

The fire department was on site until approximately 5:30 p.m.