© Sarnia ObserverEmergency responders along with Union Gas crews and a spill action team from the Ministry of Natural Resources attended a natural gas leak in Lambton Shores Wednesday after reports of a odour were noted. (file photo)
Municipal officials in Lambton Shores declared a "localized state of emergency" Thursday, one day after a natural gas leak at a local golf course bubbled and released methane gas.
Doug Cook, the town's deputy mayor, announced the state of emergency for the Indian Hills Golf Course and surrounding subdivision following a meeting of the Municipal Emergency Control group.
Gas has continued to leak into the air since Wednesday morning, and with no indication of when it might stop.
"We're hoping it will dissipate in the near future," Cook told
The Observer. "There may be more radical steps to take if not, but at this point, there's not much we can do."
Firefighters and Lambton OPP responded to reports shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday from a nearby First Nations group of a strange odour coming from a creek.
The golf course was evacuated when the leak was discovered, and access to Indian Hill Trail West remains restricted, said Const. Travis Parsons, the OPP's community services and media relations officer.
Cook said the evacuation was a precautionary measure and there is no risk to the public outside the gas leak site.
Comment: For those who are paying attention, incidences of methane outgassing, or suspected outgassing are becoming disturbingly frequent. Another sign of impending earth changes? Just a small sample: