The cause of an evacuation in Wheatley has been determined to be from a gas that caused an explosion in the town nearly four years ago.
Residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday afternoon for an odour investigation specifically affecting the downtown core.
On Thursday evening, Chatham-Kent officials confirmed a hydrogen sulfide gas leak which was originally located at the back of the Wheatley Public Library branch on Talbot Road West.
The evacuation zone has since grown, and all residents within 100 meters of the site have been temporarily evacuated from the area while crews are on site conducting an investigation. According to Chatham officials, a total of 60 residences have been evacuated.
An evacuation centre has been established at the Wheatley Arena, which is located at 196 Erie Street North, and it will be open to affected residents for the duration of the evacuation.
No timeframe has been established and residents are being asked to avoid downtown Wheatley for the time being.
Power had been temporarily disconnected at the request of emergency services for safety reasons. Entegrus posted to social media on Thursday evening that they were working to restore power to those outside of the evacuation zone, and to the Wheatley Arena.
A number of emergency services are on scene, including Chatham-Kent Fire, Chatham Police, Chatham EMS, Windsor Hazmat, as well as the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment, geological scientists from University of Windsor, among others.
Hydrogen sulfide is the same gas responsible for an explosion that occurred in August 2021 where two buildings were destroyed and several others were damaged. Multiple people were injured following the explosion.
Updates will be provided as they become available.