Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Trevor Jones says the "all clear" has been given in Wheatley.
Jones says residents of 60 homes evacuated Thursday afternoon were allowed to return around 9 last night.
Chatham-Kent emergency officials say hydrogen sulfide — the gas that caused an explosion in the village four years ago — was detected in the area of the public library before 2 Thursday afternoon.
An evacuation centre was set up at Wheatley Arena and officials evacuated dozens of homes within 100 metres.
Jones told AM800's "Mornings with Mike and Meg", the evacuation has been lifted.
"It could have been potentially a little pocket of gas that came up from an old water well in and around the public library area in Wheatley however, luckily around 9 p.m. last night, the last data was processed readings showed no threat to public safety," says Jones. "So residents were invited to come back to their homes."
He says residents are vigilant and watch things carefully.
"People are now educated and they share information and they're confident calling their officials to say hey, we smell something of concern, we hear something of concern and that keeps people safe," he says.
Jones says the area continues to be monitored.
"There's permanent monitoring of facilities on site right now that constantly check the air, the environment, the ambient conditions for any detection," says Jones. "Like any chemical reaction that could have that composition of something that's dangerous in the environment that alert goes right to the authorities."
Jones says officials are expected to update the latest gas leak at a news conference Friday morning at 10.
A gas explosion in downtown Wheatley in August 2021 injured 20 people, destroyed two buildings and damaged several others.