VANCOUVER, Wash. — Vancouver Fire officials have lifted an evacuation order that was put in place after a vehicle crashed into an apartment building Wednesday morning and set off a gas leak.
The crash happened at Sterling Heights Apartments near Southeast Ellsworth Road and Southeast 10th Street in Vancouver. The Vancouver Fire Department reported just before 11 a.m. that the car had ruptured a natural gas line attached to the building.
The fire department said it was evacuating people within a 100-foot radius of the crash, and asked people nearby to avoid the area. Vancouver Fire did not immediately release information about whether the driver, or anyone else, was injured.
Fire officials told KGW at around 4:30 p.m. that the evacuation had been lifted and most residents had returned to their homes, although staff from gas provider Northwest Natural were still at the scene.
Photos released by the fire department show an SUV with its front end embedded into the side of an apartment building, appearing to have overshot a parking space. Gas line piping is visible against the building wall next to it. Another photo shows damage to the front bumper of an adjacent car and a nearby garage door.
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