Natural gas leak in South Seattle causes evacuation, disrupts traffic

A natural gas leak Tuesday afternoon at a building under construction in South Seattle disrupted traffic as the city approached rush hour.

The leak, caused by a construction crew hitting a gas line and creating a 2-inch gash around 2:30 p.m., forced the evacuation of a building south of the incident, Seattle Fire Department spokesperson David Cuerpo said. The leak occurred in the 5000 block of MLK Jr. Way South.

Puget Sound Energy crews secured the leak about an hour later. No injuries were reported, according to the department.

As a safety precaution, Cuerpo said, Seattle Fire blocked traffic on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South from South Edmunds Street to South Dawson Street.

Sound Transit 1 Line service was suspended between Mount Baker and Rainier Beach stations due to the leak, and riders were forced off trains to wait for shuttle buses. Trains still ran between stations north of Mount Baker and south of Rainier.

Sound Transit advised riders to set up travel alerts through soundtransit.org. With a Mariners game Tuesday evening, travelers heading to T-Mobile Stadium from the south end should plan for additional time.

Residents in a one-third mile radius were notified of the leak, Cuerpo said.

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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 4:58 PM.