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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A natural-gas leak near one home on Meade Street prompted the evacuation of 12 neighboring properties Tuesday afternoon, Wilkes-Barre Fire Chief Jay Delaney said.</p><p>But the impact spread far beyond the two blocks of Meade when PPL shut off power to a much larger area as a precaution.</p><p>&#8220;Power was out from the (Wilkes-Barre) Intermodal Center to Laurel Run,&#8221; Delaney said, prompting calls from downtown businesses and loss of traffic signals at busy intersections.</p><p>The initial call came in at 12:52 p.m., Delaney said, and emergency crews detected &#8220;very high levels of natural gas in the area,&#8221; prompting the evacuations. South Meade was blocked off from East South Street to East Northampton Street.</p><p>Two long-term care facilities run by the Diocese of Scranton &#8212; Little Flower Manor and St. Therese Residence &#8212; were out of the affected zone but put into &#8220;shelter in place&#8221; mode, with the manager staying near the scene in case an evacuation was required, Delaney said.</p><p>When PPL was asked to cut off power, a wide swath initially lost electric service. But Delaney said the area without power was reduced after UGI came on scene and determined the leak was outside 182 S. Meade St.</p><p>Despite the fact it &#8220;was an extremely volatile situation,&#8221; only &#8220;one resident was affected by the gas and was transported to the hospital,&#8221; Delaney said. The chief noted the person&#8217;s condition was not considered to be severe.</p><p>UGI pulled up several manhole covers to vent the underground tunnels and to check for gas there, and a backhoe dug up part of the street for access to gas lines. But by 2:30 or so, residents were moving back into their homes.</p><p>Delaney said the street would probably remain closed until about 10 p.m.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Damian Lendacky at the scene of a gas leak at S. Meade street, 14 homes were evacuated and one resident taken to the hospital. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL080117Gas1-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Damian Lendacky at the scene of a gas leak at S. Meade street, 14 homes were evacuated and one resident taken to the hospital. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL080117Gas2-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">UGI employees work to fix a gas leak on S, Meade street in Wilkes-Barre. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL080117Gas2-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>UGI employees work to fix a gas leak on S, Meade street in Wilkes-Barre. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL080117Gas2a-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">UGI employees work to fix a gas leak on S Meade street in Wilkes-Barre. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TTL080117Gas2a-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>UGI employees work to fix a gas leak on S Meade street in Wilkes-Barre. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>To see video related to this story, go to timesleader.com</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table class="mceItemTable" style="border:none;width:98%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;">BZaghg5RD-o</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;">YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZaghg5RD-o</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;">&lt;iframe width=&#8221;560&#8221; height=&#8221;315&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/embed/BZaghg5RD-o&#8221; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8221; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;">Gas leak in Wilkes-Barre.</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;">Aimee Dilger</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Gas leak forces evacuation of 12 homes, power off in part of Wilkes-Barre