08/28/2026
08/28/2026
Around 150 people are supporting the response to the incident at a Line 5 valve project in Saxon, Wisconsin, including Iron County Sheriff’s Office, Iron County Emergency Management, the Ashland and Superior Hazardous Materials teams, local fire departments from Gurney, Saxon, Kimball, and Oma, and Enbridge response personnel. There have been no injuries during the response.
Safety remains our #1 concern. For the safety of first responders, the local community, and response personnel, a temporary no-fly zone over the site is still in effect and access to the area remains restricted.
On Tuesday, August 25, a parked and unoccupied third-party subcontractor flatbed truck delivering equipment to the site rolled into an open excavation at a Line 5 valve project, striking the pipe and releasing natural gas liquids (NGLs). No one was injured. As a precaution, a nearby rural home was evacuated. The affected section of pipe was immediately isolated, and Line 5 remains shut down.
Enbridge continues to respond to the incident and work toward safely restoring service to the pipeline.
Power has been restored to most of the residents affected by the power outage.
As a reminder, the incident involves the release of natural gas liquids (NGLs), not natural gas. NGLs are hydrocarbons separated from natural gas during processing. Common NGL products include propane, butane, and ethane. These products are used for home heating, crop drying, and as key building blocks in thousands of everyday products, including plastics, medical supplies, electronics, and clothing.
More information will be provided as it becomes available.
Sheriff Paul Samardich
