Bethesda neighborhood sealed off due to gas leak (Photos)

Another major gas leak has been detected in Bethesda, this time in a residential neighborhood bordering downtown Bethesda. The Sacks subdivision on Leland Street has been entirely sealed off between Woodmont Avenue and Bradley Boulevard. A Washington Gas crew is on-site digging under the street to locate and repair the leak. There is a strong odor of natural gas in the air in that vicinity.

Washington Gas still working after major leak in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

Washington Gas continues to work on multiple sites within an area of downtown Bethesda that Montgomery County police cordoned off during a major gas leak last Monday night. While Montgomery County officials publicly pinpointed a valve box as the source of the leak near the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and St. Elmo Avenue Tuesday morning, a Washington Gas crew was seen working on Cordell Avenue two days later. Yesterday, another team from the utility was performing extensive work on gas infrastructure underneath Old Georgetown Road, again within the boundaries of the area impacted by Monday's leak, and reducing Old Georgetown to one lane in each direction. Neither the County, nor the utility, has commented on the extended work since the initial incident.

Washington Gas continues work following major Bethesda gas leak

A Washington Gas utility crew continued working in the area of downtown Bethesda impacted by Monday night's gas leak yesterday. While Montgomery County officials stated that the leak had been located near the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and St. Elmo Avenue, work yesterday was focused a block away from there, on Cordell Avenue between Old Georgetown and Norfolk Avenue. That block had been part of the sizeable area ultimately cordoned off by County police by early Tuesday morning. Washington Gas has not yet commented publicly on the leak, which is in the same general area where other significant gas leaks have occurred in recent years, with the largest taking place in June of 2024 on Norfolk Avenue.

"Major" gas leak closes intersection in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

Update - February 3, 2026, 6:50 AM: MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer says Washington Gas has located the gas leak in a valve box in the vicinity of Old Georgetown Road and St. Elmo Avenue. A Washington Gas crew has remained on the scene and is in the process of repairing the leak.

Update - 10:54 PM: Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer says the area being searched for the leak now includes Cordell and Del Ray Avenues near Old Georgetown Road. Piringer reports there are "high readings of gas in entire area outside; higher readings at utility manholes."

Update - 10:28 PM: Police have extended the closure of St. Elmo Avenue to Norfolk Avenue. Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department is among the agencies now on-scene.

A gas leak has forced the closure of a major intersection in downtown Bethesda. The four-way intersection of Arlington Road, Old Georgetown Road, St. Elmo Avenue, and Wilson Lane is currently closed due to what one Montgomery County police officer on the scene described as a "major gas leak." There is a noticeable odor of natural gas in the air. Police are directing traffic in the area, which should be avoided at this time.

Target truck rerouted onto Woodmont Avenue 
due to the gas leak road closures

Washington Gas still working on gas leak repair in Bethesda (Photos)

The gas leak on Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda that forced an evacuation of the vicinity Friday night was apparently a major one. A Washington Gas crew is still working on-scene as of this hour, about 41-and-a-half-hours after the leak was first detected. Norfolk Avenue's roadway between Cordell and St. Elmo Avenues remains closed. The story, which initially drew heavy media coverage that included a helicopter on Friday night, has dropped out of the news over the weekend, but it's clearly not over yet.

Washington Gas works overnight to repair gas leak in Bethesda (Photos)

Sometimes the street has something to say about the Streetery. A gas leak at Norfolk Avenue near Cordell Avenue in Bethesda around 7:30 PM last night disrupted dinner plans for many. The area was evacuated by Montgomery County first responders as a precaution. A Washington Gas crew continued to make repairs over the night into this morning. The Bethesda Streetery section of Norfolk, which had been closed for a concert and outdoor dining Friday evening, remained closed to traffic as work continued.

Washington Gas repairs leak in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

A gas leak on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda snarled traffic at the height of rush hour Thursday evening, February 1, 2024. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel responded to a report of a leak at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue shortly before 6:00 PM last night. Washington Gas requested that firefighters evacuate the high-rise office building as a safety precaution.

The location of the leak was eventually determined to be under Wisconsin Avenue near the building, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said. Streets were blocked off, causing traffic jams around the busy crossroads with Old Georgetown Road and East-West Highway. A Washington Gas crew was still working around midnight to wrap up the repair of the faulty pipe. 

Gas leak temporarily evacuates Westlake Drive building in Bethesda (Photos)

A gas leak in a residential building on Westlake Drive in Bethesda required it to be temporarily evacuated around 5:00 PM today. The leak was small, and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services were shortly able to turn the scene over to the gas company, according to MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer. No injuries or resident displacements resulted from the leak.

Residents wait for the green light
to return to their homes

Some had already been cleared to
reenter the building at the
point these pictures were taken;
there was a much heavier crowd
along the street when I arrived
on-scene