A 7.1 earthquake hit Alaska on Sunday Jan. 24, 2016. The earthquake caused a road closure when the natural gas line broke and burned four homes to the ground.
The Kenai Fire department announced Monday that the Lilac Lane has been reopened. However, they are still continuing repairs. Residents have returned home after the tremor.
More repairs have to be done to make sure there are no concentrations of natural gas in the area, as explained by Natural Gas Utility Enstar Spokesperson Lindsay Hobson.
Firefighters responded to numerous reports of gas odors, alarm systems sounding and broken water lines.
Local residents and tourists were in shock and got the whole town talking. When the town of Anchorage started to tremble on Sunday morning, everyone was not prepared.
Matt and Julie Stotss stayed at the 14th floor of the Hotel Captain Cook. The earthquake caused the building to glide back and forth. Matt describes it as a "mechanical bull". The couple didn't leave the room as it would take too much time to get downstairs.
Forty year old Daniel Lee who is a first time resident of Anchorage felt his house swirling. He moved from Chicago six months ago. He and his girlfriend waited it out.
The 7.1 magnitude quake has cut power to thousands of homes. It was reported that the epicenter was located 52 miles east of Old Iliamna at 1:30 AM AKST.
No tsunami was expected along the U.S West Coast or in the Pacific. Fifteen aftershocks were counted since the major earthquake.
The tremblor jolted people awake, set fire to four homes and caused things from the shelves to fall off. But the largest ever recorded earthquake that hit Anchorage was back in March 1964 when a 9.2 magnitude quake hit the area and generated a massive tsunami that cost more than 100 people's lives. It is notoriously known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake.
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