Campus Alert Archive
UW

Excavator Ruptures Gas Line at Dorm Construction Site, Forcing Multi-Building Evacuation at Wyoming

WYgas leakemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On October 9, 2024, an excavator struck a 2-inch natural gas service line at a dormitory construction site on the University of Wyoming campus. Four buildings were evacuated: McWhinnie Hall, UW Lab School, Service Building, and Sigma Nu fraternity. Black Hills Energy responded to the scene. The gas flow was stopped at 12:57 PM MDT and the all-clear was given at 1:34 PM.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of Wyoming
Public R2 · WY
~11,000 studentsUW Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction201 chars
UW ALERT: A gas line has been ruptured at a construction site on campus. McWhinnie Hall, UW Lab School, Service Building, and Sigma Nu are being evacuated. Avoid the area. Emergency crews are on scene.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

An excavator at a dormitory construction site struck a 2-inch natural gas service line, causing the rupture
The first fire unit (Engine 4) arrived at approximately 11:16 AM MDT on October 9, 2024
Four buildings were evacuated, including McWhinnie Hall (residential), UW Lab School, a Service Building, and the Sigma Nu fraternity house
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction212 chars
UW ALERT UPDATE: ALL CLEAR. The ruptured gas line has been secured by Black Hills Energy. The gas flow was stopped at 12:57 PM. All evacuated buildings have been cleared for reentry. Normal operations may resume.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Black Hills Energy arrived at 11:45 AM, remotely exposed the gas line at 12:50 PM, and stopped the flow at 12:57 PM MDT on October 9, 2024
The Laramie Fire Department terminated incident command at 1:34 PM, approximately 2 hours and 18 minutes after the first unit arrived
No injuries were reported from the incident
Context

Background

On October 9, 2024, an excavator at a dormitory construction site on the University of Wyoming campus struck a 2-inch natural gas service line, causing a significant leak that forced the evacuation of four buildings. The Laramie Boomerang reported that the evacuated buildings included McWhinnie Hall, UW Lab School, the Service Building, and the Sigma Nu fraternity house. The first fire unit arrived at 11:16 AM MDT, and Black Hills Energy responded at 11:45 AM. The gas line was remotely exposed at 12:50 PM and the flow was stopped at 12:57 PM. The Laramie Fire Department terminated incident command at 1:34 PM. No injuries were reported. Cap City News provided additional coverage of the construction-related incident.
Analysis

Key Findings

Construction activity on campus caused the gas line rupture, highlighting the risk that building projects pose to campus infrastructure and safety
The detailed incident timeline from fire department records provides a rare minute-by-minute account of emergency response
Four diverse building types were evacuated (residence hall, school, service building, fraternity), illustrating the wide impact of a single infrastructure failure
Outcome
Black Hills Energy stopped the gas flow at 12:57 PM MDT. Laramie Fire Department terminated command at 1:34 PM. No injuries were reported. All evacuated buildings were cleared for reentry.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    4 buildings on UW campus evacuated due to gas leak (Oil City News)
    oilcity.news
  2. News
    Ruptured gas line causes UW evacuations (Laramie Boomerang)
    wyomingnews.com
  3. News
    Gas line hit at UW dormitory construction site (Laramie Live)
    laramielive.com
  4. News
    4 buildings evacuated due to gas leak (Cap City News)
    capcity.news
Tags
gas-leakconstruction-accidentwyomingmulti-building-evacuationblack-hills-energyno-injuriesinfrastructure
Added April 2026Updated April 2026Via ingestion