Gas Leak Forces Evacuations, Business Closures at Denison Plaza

DENISON, Texas — A natural gas leak discovered at Morton Street Plaza led to emergency evacuations and temporary closures of multiple businesses on Wednesday morning.

The leak, which was detected during a routine survey by Atmos Energy, was found in the alleyway on the east side of the shopping center. The survey is part of Atmos’s annual maintenance protocol to identify potential hazards.

“The fire department started coming in and telling everyone to evacuate,” said Blake Smith, owner of Steps 2 Strides Therapy Center, which at the time had about 64 people inside, including children and therapists. “Unfortunately, some of my folks weren’t able to get their stuff.”

The situation escalated shortly after 9 a.m. when employees and customers were evacuated as a safety precaution. The Denison Fire Rescue station received a call from Atmos Energy for assistance with the evacuation.

Deputy Fire Marshal Landon Lindsey stated, “We treat this like any other gas leak, so we get on scene and want to make sure we have a safe perimeter.”

Atmos Energy has reported that the evacuation order was lifted by 12:30 p.m. after technicians successfully shut off the gas supply to mitigate further risk. However, outages of gas and hot water remain for the businesses affected until repairs can be completed.

Despite the quick response, the incident caused significant disruption. “We normally see 200 kids a day, and so, obviously, we’re not going to be able to do that,” Smith explained, referring to the loss of anticipated income due to the closure. “We get paid by each patient from the state through insurance, so we obviously won’t have that income.”

No injuries were reported, and Atmos Energy indicated that repairs were expected to be finished by the end of the day.