A busy roadway in the South Hill area of Washington was shut down overnight after a large propane tank began leaking, forcing crews and authorities into an hours-long operation. As of this morning, Meridian Avenue East is back open in both directions, bringing the disruption to an end after a tense night for the surrounding area.
The trouble began the previous evening. According to the reporting, crews were called to a business near 152nd Street East and Meridian Avenue East just after 6:30 last night, responding to a hazard that would keep them working late into the night at the site.
At the center of the incident was a commercial-sized propane tank that had started leaking. A leak from a tank of that size poses a serious safety risk, given how flammable propane is, and that danger is what prompted the significant response and the decision to shut down the surrounding road.
To manage the situation safely, Washington State Patrol closed Meridian Avenue East in both directions. Sealing off the road in both directions gave crews the space they needed to deal with the leaking tank without traffic passing through the area while the hazard was being addressed.
Rather than simply trying to stop the leak, crews took the step of burning off the propane from the tank. Footage from the scene showed flames as the gas was deliberately burned away, a controlled process aimed at eliminating the danger posed by the leaking tank in a managed way.
The operation was not quick. The whole process lasted until just before midnight last night before the situation was resolved. With the propane burned off and the hazard cleared, Meridian Avenue East was reopened in both directions, allowing traffic to return to normal by the morning.