P-J photo by Cameron Hurst

A contractor who struck a natural gas line forced the closure of several streets for about two hours on Thursday in the city of Jamestown.

The contractor struck a line at the intersection of Prendergast Avenue and East Eighth Street sometime after 3 p.m. that forced three customers to evacuate their homes. Karen Merkel, a spokeswoman for National Fuel, reported that the “situation had been made safe” shortly before 5 p.m.

City firefighters and police officers could be seen in the area, along with workers with National Fuel.

“They asked us to leave our apartment because apparently there’s a pretty big gas leak,” said Alisha Kelsey, who resides in the 800 block of Prendergast Avenue.

Police barricaded Prendergast Avenue north of East Sixth Street.

Merkel said that the contractor, not affiliated with National Fuel, had hit a natural gas line while doing work. Gas lines had been turned off until the situation had been made safe.

Upon declaring it such, Merkel said that repairs had begun on the line.