Tree falls on La Vista home, rupturing natural gas line and causing evacuations - KETV Omaha

Tree falls on La Vista home, rupturing natural gas line and causing evacuations

Residents can now return to their homes

Hours after storms passed through the Metro, La Vista Police said a tree fell on a house and ruptured a natural gas line Wednesday evening.

"We heard a big crash and it sounded like a bomb went off," said Josh Griswold, who was home at the time with his wife and son.

Nobody inside was hurt, but there's damage to the house and gas meter.

"I didn't expect it to be the whole thing," Angela Griswold said. "I thought would be just a branch, then I saw the leaves in the window."

The scene is near Parkview Boulevard and Diane Court, close to Apollo Park.

When the family first exited their home, they said they could hear a hissing sound and smell the gas.

"It was giving me a headache right away," Angela Griswold said. "Even when I went across the street."

According to La Vista Police, all lines are safe and people were allowed to return home after about an hour.

Black Hills Energy sent the following to KETV: Typically, repairs are able to be made the same day when we encounter a damaged meter; however, due to the size of the tree that fell, we will not be able to restore service to this customer until the tree is removed. The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our first priority. Black Hills Energy technicians are committed to making the necessary repairs so that service can be restored as expeditiously as possible and will be working with the homeowner to get repairs scheduled.