Thousands affected by gas outage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Piedmont Natural Gas crews will be working around the clock throughout the holiday weekend.

They’re trying to restore service to 7,000 customers in the southwest section of Mecklenburg County.

Officials have set up a command post at the corner of South Tryon and Carowinds Boulevard to map out their strategy.

Service Technicians are being dispatched nonstop and going door to door, working to solve the problem. In addition, some 50 to 60 additional crews from around the region have been called in to help.

"Our number one priority is the safe restoration of service to all our customers and that's why we're bringing in so many people and resources to work on this," said Piedmont Natural Gas spokesman David Trusty.

The area affected spans from the I-485/South Tryon corridor south to Lake Wylie.

"This just doesn't happen very often and certainly we apologize for the inconvenience to all our customers," Trusty added.

While officials still don't know the exact cause, they believe a natural gas valve inadvertently left closed during seasonal maintenance is to blame.

Residents and businesses affected worry it could be days before the gas is restored.

"I'm just thinking it's going to take forever to get all the customers’ gas turned off," said resident Ana Rey. “I guess we’ll just be sweaty this weekend."

Piedmont will provide hourly updates on restoration at www.piedmontng.com.