DALLAS – It has been one week. One week of worrying. One week of waiting. For the Gonzalez family, it has been one week of wondering what to do.
”Well, we just don’t feel safe at all,” said Daisy Gonzalez. She and her family are concerned as they watch Atmos Energy crews working to replace natural gas lines around their northwest Dallas neighborhood.
The Gonzalez family is among many families who say they are concerned ever since Atmos Energy disconnected gas service in an expanded area affecting about 2,800 homes.
"It’s really frustrating because we don’t have nowhere to go take a shower. We have to come home, take bags, then go to the hotel," Nancy Gonzalez said.
The National Safety Transportation Board and Texas Railroad Commission are among the agencies saturating the area. They are investigating the two gas-related fires and the deadly natural gas explosion that destroyed a house on Espanola one week ago. A memorial continues to grow in memory of Linda Michellita Rogers, the 12-year-old girl who was killed in that house explosion.
“What happened,” asked Doretha Scone. “What is it? What happened?”
What happened -- is a question residents dealing with the inconvenience continue asking. Many of them are heading to Walnut Hill Rec Center and Bachman Rec Center to collect gift cards and checks from Atmos Energy for hotel stays. So far, the agency has given out more than $1.25 million in assistance. Atmos Energy is advising residents in the target zone gas service could be shut off, in some areas, for up to three weeks.
"It’s not normal anymore,” said Nancy Gonzalez.
This new normal is causing some residents to panic. Just outside Atmos’s target zone, neighbors on Dunhaven Road called 911 after smelling gas on Friday night.
Emergency workers told them it was from crews purging gas lines and the odor being carried by the wind.