The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Should be open before the holiday weekend
[ By Mark Reaman ]
A smoking transformer box at Crested Butte’s Ace Hardware resulted in an emergency response early Sunday morning that closed the store for several days. As of midweek the expectation was that the business would be back open for business Thursday, September 1. The hope of store personnel was to reopen before the holiday weekend. The situation was originally such a mystery that an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) team was called in and was onsite Tuesday to help provide guidance.
Local emergency personnel along with Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) and Atmos Energy personnel responded to the Sixth Street and Whiterock Avenue scene about 7:25 Sunday morning where smoke was emanating from the transformer box. No active fire was observed but the situation called for the building to be closed immediately and made off limits to people.
According to Crested Butte Fire Protection fire chief Rob Weisbaum, “the crews isolated and restricted access to the area until GCEA could determine the nature of the cause. The crews were investigating Ace and the interior looking for any immediate life threats. High levels of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and carbon monoxide (CO) along with hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were noted in the building and under the foundation.”
Weisbaum said the emergency crews along with GCEA and Atmos spent much of Sunday replacing the transformer box, locating the gas lines to temporarily cap them off and search for the cause of the malfunction. “Although the cause is under investigation, the electrical lines underground were found to be burned and destroyed,” he explained. “The building was cleared of ambient air HCN, CO and H2S but there continues to have high levels of the gases underground below the structure. Part of the issue is that we cannot absolutely confirm it is HCN as H2S can create interference with the readings.”
Weisbaum said given the unknowns, he cannot predict when the site will be totally cleared.
“The efforts to mitigate this completely will take some time,” he said. “The health and safety of the occupants and community are of the most importance. The owners of ACE fully recognize this, and we are working collectively to gain additional insight so that we can effectively mitigate the current and evolving incident.”
Weisbaum emphasized Wednesday that there are numerous factors in play and safety officials simply do not have enough information right now to understand all the nuances. “Atmos collected a gas sample and is sending it off for analysis. The EPA is here and is now continuously monitoring the gases,” he said. “They will be on site continuing to evaluate the scene, the risks that may be present, and providing additional knowledge and expertise as time progresses. We all want to get Ace back open as soon as it is safely possible.”
Weisbaum said the department appreciates the patience from everyone “as this fluid situation continues to evolve and is definitely proving to be dynamic in nature.”
As for the rumor that the incident was started by some pesky wildlife, Weisbaum said probably not. “The rumor mill already going around says racoons are the suspects for the transformer explosion. This does not appear to be the case,” he said.
