By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

A broken natural gas line on Seventh Street North led to a power outage for some Alabama Power customers on Aug. 4.

Michael Jordan of Alabama Power said power lines in the area of the gas leak were de-energized to make the area safe for repairs.

Contractors working near 2109 Seventh Street North struck an Alagasco gas line before 9 a.m. on Aug. 4. Aaron Schmidt of Alagasco said the break was reported at 8:50 a.m. An Alagasco crew was sent to the site shortly thereafter to fix the line.

Schmidt said the Alagasco crew would have to dig down to the line to turn off the gas and then fix the line.

“They (local police and fire personnel) have the area closed off just for the safety of our crews,” Schmidt said.

He did not have information on how long the repair would take.

At 9:30 a.m., Jordan said Alabama Power was working to decrease the impact on customers.

“Efforts are being made to switch the direction from which customers receive power to keep as many people on as possible,” Jordan said.

By 10 a.m., power was restored to some Alabama Power customers.

While community members may smell natural gas, no safety warnings related to the gas have been issued.