As of Monday, Michigan Gas Utilities reports crews have restored gas service or visited 60% of customers in Allegan County and hope to be near fully restored by late Monday evening or Tuesday
A construction crew struck a major gas pipeline Wednesday causing an explosion, and service had to be shut off to more than 5,000 customers in Fennville, Saugatuck and Douglas.
The damaged pipeline is owned by TransCanada Energy.
“Because think of the transmission line as like a highway for natural gas and then the lines that go off of it into communities and all that. Those are like roads off of it. So then when the highway went out, then the roads went out because we had to turn it all off to be safe.”
Fennville Deputy City Administrator and Clerk Samuel Jacobs explains 300 utility crews from multiple states arrived to repair the line and go door-to-door first turning gas off, now going back individually to restore it which has to be done in a specific order to ensure public safety as the lines re-pressurize.
The phase has been divided into 39 zones.
“Pretty crazy these past few days getting everybody turned off and then back on in a safe manner.”
Jacobs says the difficult situation has been made easier by residents posting encouraging messages on social media and supplying food and necessities to crews working around the clock.
“Just seeing the community support we have in Fennville for people that are coming in, helping solve the problems, it just makes me super happy that I'm here.”
Updates are available online at websites for Michigan Gas Utilities and the city of Fennville.
