MARSHALL — Residents in several Marshall homes were temporarily evacuated Tuesday morning, when a gas line break was reported near the intersection of South First Street and Gray Place.

The public was advised to stay away from the area around the break for around an hour to an hour and a half, said Marshall Fire Chief Quentin Brunsvold.

“We were being very cautious,” said Marshall City Engineer Jason Anderson.

South First Street is currently undergoing construction, and Anderson said storm sewer work near the intersection with Gray Place damaged a gas line on Tuesday morning. The leak was stopped, and residents were advised to contact Great Plains Natural Gas if they noticed any smell of gas in their homes.

As an additional precaution, “We did evacuate some people to the northeast of the break,” Brunsvold said.

About eight to 10 homes were affected, he said.

The decision to evacuate people when there is a gas line break depends on a lot of factors, Brunsvold said. The risk to people in the area can be affected by wind direction and humidity, as well as the size and pressure of the gas line, and whether the leak is exposed to the air.

“It also depends on stormwater catch basins,” Brunsvold said. When gas escapes from a pipeline leak, it can sometimes collect in areas like the storm sewers, he said.

Brunsvold said responders worked with the city of Marshall to follow catch basins in the area and make sure gas wasn’t building up.

The gas leak was stopped, without having to cut off service from any of the homes in the neighborhood, Brunsvold said.