WEB UPDATE: No one hurt in Bigfork Bay gas leak

Bigfork Eagle

Construction crews accidentally punctured a pressurized natural gas line on Thursday morning, June 18, but no one was injured in the accident.

The accident occured at the Bear Dance condominium development on the shore of Bigfork Bay when an excavator accidentally punctured the buried pipe, according to John Mark Creamer, the superintendent on site for Ron Incoronato Construction.

"The entire crew then began to enact safety procedures that had been planned in case of such an accident." Creamer said in a statement.

Bigfork Fire Department and a crew from Northwestern Energy responded and boat and vehicle traffic was temporarily re-routed to avoid any change of igniting the gas.

"Thanks to everyone's quick response today — in addition to help from the Bigfork Fire Department — this incident remained only an accident where emergency responses kept people safe," Creamer said.

For more on this story, see the June 25 edition of the Bigfork Eagle.