More residents of Wheatley, Ont., have now been evacuated from their homes after first responders found hydrogen sulfide gas “bubbling” in the area near the community’s library.
In a statement released Thursday evening, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent said the evacuation zone had been expanded beyond Foster Street to include all residents within 100 metres of the site, for a total of 60 homes. An evacuation centre has been established.
“The evacuation site, located at 196 Erie St. N, will be open to affected residents for the duration of the evacuation. No timeframe has yet been established,” the municipality said in a statement.
Chatham-Kent’s fire chief reported on social media Thursday afternoon that crews responded around 1:45 p.m. to reports of “a strong smell of gas.”
“When we arrived, we found an area at the back of the library that is bubbling with water and gas coming up, which we confirmed is hydrogen sulfide,” said Chief Chris Case on X.
Teams on site now include Chatham-Kent first responders, as well as employment and social services, victims services and local utilities.
The municipality also noted a hazardous materials team from Windsor and geological scientists from the University of Windsor are attending, as are representatives from the ministries of environment, natural resources and emergency preparedness.
Parts of downtown Wheatley were levelled in 2021 when an abandoned gas well exploded injuring 20 people.
Last October, town officials announced that the well, at 17 Talbot St. E., had been drilled, cased and cemented, and a monitoring well established in 2021 had stopped venting gas, including hydrogen sulfide.
The officials said at the time they were “optimistic” that gas emission issues in the area may be resolved.
“We know this is a terrible thing to happen again, however all the agencies are here working so we just ask for your co-operation while we try and work out what’s going on and try and get the best result we can,” Case said on Thursday.
Hydrogen sulfide is a colourless gas with a characteristic rotten egg smell that can be released from wastewater treatment systems, oil and gas facilities, livestock operations, pulp and paper mills and mining operations, according to information on the Health Canada website.
WATCH | Downtown Wheatley gas explosion from summer 2021:
Video of Wheatley explosion
It can also be released from inactive oil and gas wells.
Natural sources include volcanoes, hot springs, petroleum crude oil deposits, decomposing plants and animals and normal bodily functions.
One gas technician whose business was affected by the 2021 explosion said the situation is “a little unnerving.”
Doug Walker, who owns Walker Tetra Mechanical, lost a van in the explosion in 2021.
He said he had enough equipment on his truck on Thursday to get him through Friday’s jobs.
But if the incident proves to be serious, “then I’m right back to where we started again.”
“I don’t even want to think about it,” he said. “I don’t want to think about it. I really don’t.”
Area resident Al Ringrose said Thursday’s incident also had him feeling “a little concerned.”
“We were evacuated for a couple of years,” he said. “We thought we had everything taken care of now, and yeah, so it looks like there’s still issues.”
Another resident, Jeff Edwards, said he didn’t know what to expect after first responders ordered him to leave the area Thursday.
He left his apartment above the Dollar Haven and Discount store Thursday without even bringing his pills, he said.
“I got food up there too,” said Edwards, who is from the area but wasn’t living there in the aftermath of the 2021 explosion.
“I had chicken out for supper, but I don’t think it’s going to be very good if it lasts too long.”
Walker said he first noticed the smell of gas while unloading two of his trucks on Thursday.
“Everybody was coming out of their stores saying that we could smell … something,” he said.
He began checking gas metres but couldn’t see a problem, so he called 911.
“None of us want to go through this again, ever, ever,” he said, referring to the 2021 explosion.
Police are urging the public to stay away from the area until further notice.
Mike Harris, Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources, is scheduled to be in Wheatley for a 10 a.m. news conference on Friday.
