A gas leak near 5th Avenue and Oregon Street may have kept you and your neighbors out of homes or in offices for a period of time late Wednesday afternoon.

Construction crews allegedly punctured a gas line just outside of the Door County Government Center after 3 p.m..., releasing a large amount of it into the neighborhood. Personnel from the Sturgeon Bay Fire Department, Sturgeon Bay Police Department, and Door County Emergency Services shut down many of the streets leading to the area out of concern of potentially igniting the gas. Approximately a half dozen homes had to be evacuated and between 20-30 county employees had to shelter in place at the government center until the scene was declared safe. One home even had to be ventilated with the help of a Department of Natural Resources airboat before it was deemed safe enough for people to re-enter. Thanks to the cooperation of local agencies and the wind, Door County Emergency Management and Communication Director Dan Kane thought the response was a success.

Kane says they were able to allow people to return to their homes and leave the Door County Government Center between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wisconsin Public Service went from home to home to make sure their home was safe to occupy and that their gas service was restored.