Natural gas line hit, sparks fire in NW Redmond

(Update: More details from Redmond Fire Dept.)

A natural gas line was struck by a resident’s rototiller, sparking a fire along a northwest Redmond Street late Friday afternoon, prompting evacuations and road closures in the immediate area for about a half-hour.

The incident was reported around 4:20 p.m. in the 700 block of Northwest Ninth Street, near Canyon Drive, said Redmond police Lt. Curtis Chambers.

Redmond Fire Marshal Traci Cooper said crews arrived to find the 6- to 8-foot flames coming from a broken natural gas service line between a resident’s backyard and Canyon Drive.

Precautionary evacuations were ordered as Redmond Fire & Rescue worked to contain the incident.

The first fire crews on scene stretched a hose line to protect a fence and nearby pine tree, Cooper said.

But despite the dramatic flames, it actually was a good thing, according to Redmond Fire Division Chief Dick Knorr/

“For us, it probably is the best situation, because as long as it’s burning and it’s not involving any exposures, we know where the gas is and it’s not going to hurt anything,” Knorr said. “So we just protected the trees and the fence around it, and there was no danger to anything else in the area.”

Cascade Natural Gas crews arrived and pinched off the service line, stopping the leak and extinguishing the fire shortly after 5 p.m.

Chambers said Canyon Drive was the only street with a closure in place as darkness fell, but it was to reopen soon, as evacuated area residents were returning home.

Area streets had been closed, and motorists were urged to avoid the area.