North Stafford, Va. –– The occupants of five houses in North Stafford who were evacuated because of methane gas are still waiting to go home.
They were evacuated Tuesday night after someone reported a strange smell, which investigators from utility companies determined to be methane.
No one was sickened by the smell, but officials did remove those residents whose town homes were affected and placed them in a nearby hotel.
The American Red Cross is helping with the hotel tab, and the evacuees remained at the hotel Thursday afternoon.
County officials say they don’t know when they’ll be able to return to their homes as testing is still ongoing.
The homes sit in the area of Woodstream Boulevard and Short Branch Road, behind Stafford Marketplace off Garrisonville Road (Va. 610).
Officials in the press conference Wednesday said the gas appeared to be seeping up through the ground, but no one seemed to know why.
Investigators are using instruments that can be placed into the soil to check for elevated levels of methane gas.
Officials plan to update residents when they get new information, said Stafford County spokeswoman Cathy Riddle.
