Stewart and Gray Road was closed from Paramount Boulevard to Rives Avenue due to the leak, SoCalGas said.
About 8:30 p.m., the utility company said it would take another eight hours to repair the leak and residents in the area should plan to be evacuated until at least Friday morning, the Downey Patriot reported.
Residents and businesses in the area were advised that they may smell a natural gas odor while SoCalGas crews and first responders worked to stop the leak and make permanent repairs.
A countywide notification regarding the gas leak was sent out at about 12:30 p.m. The city of Downey tweeted about 3 p.m. to explain the notification was released using a new emergency notification system and only intended for residents in the area.
Gas leak in Downey near Rives & Stewart and Gray
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An emergency notification that was sent to smartphones and other mobile devices on Thursday afternoon urged residents to avoid the scene of a gas leak in Downey.
An emergency notification that was sent to smartphones and other mobile devices on Thursday afternoon urged residents to avoid the scene of a gas leak in Downey.
It was not immediately clear which agency sent the alert shortly after 12:30 p.m., which said the incident occurred near the intersection of Rives Avenue and Stewart and Gray Road.
“An explanation of why that alert was received beyond the affected area or the border of the 12.57 square mile city (approximately 13 miles southeast of downtown #LosAngeles), would have to come from @CityOfDowney emergency officials,” a tweet from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s “#LAFD Talk” Twitter account said.
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Downey residents affected by a natural gas leak Thursday should expect evacuations to continue overnight, officials said. The leak prompted a small evacuation but a wide warning alert after a contractor cut a gas main in a residential area, authorities said.
Downey’s fire and police departments arrived at Stewart and Gray Road and Rives Avenue at 10:32 a.m., said Tracy Gonzales, the Fire Department’s supervisor of communications. Southern California Gas responded shortly after and have worked with first responders to stop the flow of gas from the severed 6-inch main line.
At 3 p.m., SoCalGas estimated it would take four hours to cap the leak, said Juddy Montenegro, Downey’s public information officer. At about 8:30 p.m., the fire officials said repairs would take another eight hours.