About 20 Churdan residents were evacuated from their homes Wednesday after a driver struck two 500-gallon propane tanks, causing one to leak.
According to Greene County emergency management director and sheriff Jack Williams, Joyce Hoyle, 89, of Churdan was driving her 2018 Dodge Caravan in her driveway when she lost control of it and struck the propane tanks. Both tanks rolled over; a line on the second tank broke and leaked large amounts of propane. The collision happened at 4:47 pm.
The tank was partially rolled back over and shut off, stopping the leak.
Several blocks in the area were evacuated. The basements of the homes were then checked for the presence of propane. Most residents were allowed to return after about an hour. Propane was detected in two basements, and those residents weren’t allowed to return until their basements were ventilated and free of propane, about another 30 minutes later.
Churdan fire and rescue, the Jefferson fire department and the Iowa State Patrol assisted.
Williams said there are plans in place to deal with that sort of emergency and first responders do annual training on the plan because some small towns and rural residents use propane for heating.
“The plan worked as it should as we got more first responders on scene,” Williams said.
