By Wesley Harris
A gas pipeline blowout Thursday night prompted an evacuation of a neighborhood in northern Jackson Parish just south of Choudrant.
The Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Office reported the blast happened at 9:38 p.m. off of Mosswood Road near La. 145 and La. 146. Several families were evacuated from the area by deputies.
Mosswood Road was closed to traffic for a time.
The cause of the rupture has not been provided by authorities. Residents in the area posted a photo of a 15-foot crater caused by the ruptured pipeline.
Boardwalk Pipelines, a network of natural gas pipeline and storage facilities, mostly in the southern U.S., includes the Gulf South Pipeline Company which manages the line that exploded.
Gulf South said its personnel detected a release from their natural gas pipeline in Jackson Parish about 9:30 p.m. on May 14. The line was immediately shut down and some homes were temporarily evacuated as a precaution.
Residents in Jackson, Lincoln, and Ouachita Parishes heard a loud roar or rumbling for a time as gas spewed from the ruptured pipeline.
The pipeline will remain shut down until repairs are complete and regulatory requirements are met.
