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This article was published 13/4/2018 (893 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A blackout, evacuations and road closures seem like minor inconveniences compared to the catastrophe that could have resulted Thursday, when a massive buildup of natural gas developed in the sewer next to a Winnipeg hydroelectric substation.

"Our fear was of anything happening in the substation to ignite the gas," Manitoba Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen said Friday.

Polo Park shopping centre was among several businesses evacuated Thursday afternoon, after Hydro was notified of the strong rotten-egg stink in the area of St. Matthews Avenue and Empress Street, north of the mall.

A gas reading taken in the sewer was alarmingly high, Owen said. "We were dealing with an emergency."

A Manitoba Hydro substation with a 66-kilovolt line is just east of the intersection, across the street from Canad Inns Polo Park hotel. Underground cable and seven feeders (or power lines) originate there, distributing power to the immediate area and south to the River Heights neighbourhood.

The station was "de-energized" until the buildup could be vented, Owen said.

"There was a high concentration of natural gas in the sewer migrating toward that substation," Owen said, adding an explosion could put nearby lives at risk, as well taking that substation out of service for up to three weeks.

"If there is any slight chance of ignition, not only does it put public safety at risk, it puts our staff at risk, as well."

Crews were still looking for the cause of the buildup Friday and working to repair the problem. The intersection remained closed in all directions to vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Power was later restored to an estimated 20,000 customers.

To vent the gas buildup, crews drilled into the pavement.

"It began almost bubbling out of the ground," Owen said, adding workers saw gas escape almost like a "small geyser coming out of the ground."

The fire department put down foam to reduce the chance of a spark igniting the escaping gas, he said.

Police block St. James Street south of Ellice Avenue after a gas leak forced Hydro to cut power to the West End. Trevor Hagan / Winnipeg Free Press)

Canad Inns Polo Park, Toys "R" Us, the Scotiabank Theatre and a nearby Home Depot also were evacuated.

Canad Inns Polo Park was back to normal Friday, after a day of chaos.

"It had us hopping. Everybody had to get out," Canad Inns chief executive officer Dan Lussier said.

"We were running at a fairly high occupancy," he said.

The facility had guests in 93 rooms and a restaurant, pub and banquet facilities all operating. The hotel was able to accommodate guests in the chain’s other locations in the city, he said.

"It created a lot of anxiety, especially for people with early morning flights. Some guests had to be at the airport at 5 a.m., but it all worked out."

While the hotel chain has emergency plans, they don’t include every detail of what needs to be done in every circumstance, he said.

"There was a lot of stickhandling at the last minute," Lussier said, adding he didn’t yet know how much the disruption cost the company. "It’s pretty significant."

At Scotiabank Theatre, around 150 moviegoers had to leave when the building was evacuated before 5 p.m. Thursday, Cineplex Inc. spokeswoman Sarah Van Lange said.

"We apologized and gave passes to those guests," she said Friday, adding others who had bought tickets for later times can contact guest services to exchange them for other movie passes.

The theatre reopened Friday.

"Everything is back up and it’s business as usual," Van Lange said.

The power outage and natural gas leak also interrupted internet, TV and phone services for some Shaw Communications customers in Winnipeg, a company spokesman said Friday from Calgary.

"Our hubsite is equipped with a backup generator to support our services in the event of a power outage. However, because this generator is powered by natural gas, we required clearance from the fire department before we could turn it on," the spokesman said.

Shaw received the go-ahead at 11:30 p.m. Thursday, and services were restored a short time later, he said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca