The University of Minnesota announced on Tuesday morning that it was evacuating several of its sports facilities due to an apparent petroleum leak and gas odor in the area.
Updated 5 p.m. CST — The all clear has been given after a major evacuation on the U of M campus and surrounding neighborhoods for most of the afternoon due to that petroleum spill in the sewer system, according to the Minneapolis Fire Department.
Updated 3:45 p.m. CST — The Minneapolis Fire Department is still working to pinpoint the source of the gas leak that has resulted in the evacuation of a portion of the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis.
Assistant fire chief Melanie Rucker and State Fire Marshal Jim Smith have shared that residents and employees are still not allowed in the area as they continue to flush the system and ask homeowners to do their own flushing.
When it comes to the petroleum construction workers discovered, Smith said there is a “significant amount” in the sewer lines.
“It’s very difficult because this is in the sanitary sewer system, which means the product could be coming from inside a structure which makes it extremely difficult to locate,” Smith said.
As for what residents can do to help, Rucker shared that they are asking anyone in the evacuation area to put water in their drains and sinks to help with the petroleum hazard and get water to the system.
Still, Rucker and first responders are glad they caught the leaks when they did, as the issue could have been much worse.
“We caught it before there were any fires or before the sewer system expelled the sewer tops into the air and caused more hazards,” Rucker said.
Updated 12:45 p.m. CST — The decision to evacuate the arenas and facilities came from the Minneapolis Fire Department, with the Williams Arena, Huntington Bank Stadium, Mariucci Arena, the Aquatics Center, the Recreation Center, and the Maturi Sports Pavilion all being affected.
The public is also being warned to stay away from the area, with Hennepin EMS sharing on Twitter that the “evacuation area is roughly Huron Blvd SE to 35w and the Mississippi River to Hennepin Ave East.”
The fire department shared that contractors working in sewer tunnels at 5th and Oak streets reported that their gas monitors were going off and that they discovered petroleum in the sewer tunnel.
This is an ongoing story that will be updated when more information becomes available.
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