Winds kept Thursday propane leak in Cameron, just south of Marshfield, from becoming worse

CAMERON − A leaking tanker carrying propane caused some highways just south of Marshfield to be closed for several hours Thursday, while a few homes were evacuated and power cut off.

At 1:35 p.m. Thursday, a caller reported the propane leak near the roundabouts, said Wood County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Charlie Hoogestegar. A small number of homes in the immediate area of the leak had to be evacuated.

The tanker had a small puncture in the belly, said Sarah Christensen, Wood County Emergency Management director. They had to close the roads and wait while they offloaded the propane, she said. They emptied the tanker by allowing the propane to evaporate into the air, Christensen said. It took several hours to complete the process, finishing about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

Power in the area was cut off, but the wind kept the problem from becoming worse, Hoogestegar said. If the wind had died down, the propane gas would have settled in the area and about 45 more homes would have been evacuated, Hoogestegar said.

Officials closed State 80, from Wood County EE to U.S. 10, the middle roundabout; Klondike Drive, from Washington Street to State 80 and U.S. 10 East, from the roundabout to Wood County B.

The roads were reopened and the evacuated residents were allowed to return home about 1:50 p.m. Hoogestegar said. Power was restored to the area at 3:16 a.m.

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Contact Karen Madden at kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.

This article originally appeared on Marshfield News-Herald: Propane leak in Cameron prevented by winds from becoming worse