From the archive: Runaway propane tank causes evacuation

This story originally aired in 1993.

At about 8:30 in the morning, highway work and traffic came to an abrupt halt. It was not due to water, but because of another liquid, the flammable and explosive propane.

An MFA tank punctured, spraying gas into the air. It then broke loose.

Evacuation of Cedar City came quickly, followed by the stop to highway work and then traffic.

The reason this has been such a long process is that the propane tank has been very difficult to contain, partly because of the flood waters in that area are moving very fast, but also because the propane escaping from that tank is acting as a propellant, moving the tank around like a balloon that’s just had the air let out of it.

Unrelated, but in the midst of it all, a sandbag wall broke, flooding factories just east of Cedar City.

And if all that wasn’t enough, during the hunt for the runaway propane tank, water began flowing on Highway 54, a desperate enough situation for highway workers to resume laying barricades, despite the risk.