TRUCKEE, Calif. -- A company plans to remove a propane tank after a leak closed businesses, a school and a major road in this Sierra Nevada town last month.
AmeriGas officials estimate 22,000 gallons of propane leaked from the tank beginning in March 2002. The problem wasn't detected until someone reported smelling propane in late January.
"We're going to remove that tank in the back," Bob Roseler, AmeriGas vice president of operations, told the Sierra Sun newspaper. "We're not replacing anything there."
Since the leak was detected, Truckee officials have been busy helping to clean up the spill and keep the situation under control.
Although AmeriGas is still unsure what caused the leak, Roseler said he hopes cleanup crews will have propane readings down to zero in a week.
A leaky pipe is suspected of causing the problem. The propane seeped into the ground and was absorbed by the soil.
"The good news is that it was an incident, not an accident, and no one was hurt," Roseler said.
The potentially dangerous propane leak shut down Donner Pass Road for about three weeks until it reopened Feb. 12.
The road was closed while a cleanup crew dug a trench and installed vertical pipes to suction vapor from the leaking liquid gas.
Fear of an explosion and concerns about unhealthy air also forced the closure of a nearby Dairy Queen and ski shop, as well as Sierra Mountain Middle School.
About 800 students missed classes one week, then shared the high school after officials checked the air quality and shut down the middle school.