UPDATE: Tombstone residents allowed home after reported gas leak

TOMBSTONE, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Residents in Tombstone are being allowed back into their homes after a reported natural gas leak, according to law enforcement.

Crew members with Southwest Gas have cleared one area and will continue to check main lines, but evacuations have been lifted as of 9:30 p.m., according to Sgt. Travis Mattern with the Tombstone Marshal's Office.

The first details about the leak were reported to the department around 7:45 p.m., Mattern said. Evacuations began around 30 minutes later when law enforcement officers responded and narrowed down that the largest concentration of the strong odor was coming from the area of Saddleback Circle.

There appears to be a gas leak in the area of Saddleback Drive in Tombstone. The fire department and Marshal's Office are attempting to locate the source of the leak at this time.
Posted by Tombstone Marshal's Office on Sunday, March 11, 2018

About 50-60 people living in the area were told to leave their homes, Mattern explained, and were sent to an evacuation center set up at Tombstone High School. Tombstone Marshal's Office vehicles drove through the neighborhood, telling people over the vehicle loudspeaker to, "Evacuate your residence... there is a gas leak... this is not a drill."

The fire department and Marshal's Office are attempting to locate the source of the leak at this time. The cause of the odor has yet to be determined.

There have been no reports of anyone going to nearby hospitals due to sickness from the reported leak, Mattern said.