The one-mile evacuation order remained in place early Wednesday in Columbiana County due to an uncontrolled natural gas well leak.

The leak originated at the Tarka Pad at 4524  Fairfield School Road late Tuesday morning.

 Columbiana EMA officials announced Tuesday night that members of a well specialist team were on the scene along with their heavy equipment

Work to plug the leak was scheduled to begin Wednesday morning. As of noon on Wednesday, Columbiana County EMA Director, Peggy Clark says progress is being made, but there is still no clear time frame for when residents can return home.

Air monitoring equipment has been in place since earlier Tuesday, and a roving team of air monitors is in the area taking air samples within a two-mile radius of the leak. Clark says all readings remain within normal limits at this time. 

The Hilcorp assistance number, 1-877-872-1288 will be answered Wednesday morning again, beginning at 8:00 am. Residents affected by thie evacuation are encouraged to reach out to the company with any concerns.

Residents needing immediate assistance or reentry into the evacuation zone should contact the Columbiana Police Department at 330-482-9292.

According to a press release from Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine, a third-party contractor struck a wellhead at around 9:00 a.m. Emergency shutdown devices for the remaining 12 wells on the pad were activated and all remaining wells and pipelines are shut in.

At this point, it's unknown how long the evacuation order will be in effect for the 450 residents affected, but Columbiana County EMA Director, Peggy Clark tells 21 News several members of the well specialist team arrived on scene along with their heavy equipment.

Wild Well control specialists spent the evening Tuesday accessing potential dangers along with the pressure and size of the leak. Columbiana fire crews told 21 News they could see vapors coming from the site. 

According to a representative from Hilcorp Energy, no injuries have been reported so far and Hilcorp continues to work with local emergency crews to establish a perimeter while crews respond. 

The EPA's air quality tests found no ground-level detections as testing continues. "As anticipated with the material that you're dealing with, the methane and the atmospheric conditions, the high winds, it is readily dispursing," explained Kurt Kohler with the Ohio EPA. "And we are picking up no ground-level detections for both the explosive gas, methane, and the volatile organic compounds." 

ODNR is working with authorities as well to monitor the situation.

Crestview Elementary School is open to anyone needing to reach the district (330) 482-5370.

The Columbiana County Sheriff posted the following information on Facebook earlier Tuesday:

There has been a gas line leak. We are evacuating a 1 mile radius from Fairfield School Road just North of State Route 517. The evacuation is from North of Woodvale Lane to the South and Just North of Crestview Road. Lower Elkton Road to the West at State Route 558 and West of Crestview High School. The Crestview Elementary School is available for shelter. Red Cross has been notified. Thank You- Sheriff Brian McLaughlin

21 News spoke with Lisa Arter, a resident of the evacuation zone who evacuated with her husband and dog. Arter told us about how she was alerted of the situation at work and how she responded to it in the video above.

"I was driving my husband's truck, so I had to run home. We had two dogs in the house and my husband met me there. We got our camper, we got the dogs, we got clothes for everybody living in the house and we are temporarily parked in my work parking lot where we can have water and electricity until we figure out what our next move's going to be," Arter said. 

"They said we should probably stay here [at Crestview Elementary] for a while until we find out what's going on," said Karen Long, a Columbiana resident.

The accident happened in Matthew and Kerrie Ham's backyard. They told 21 News they rented a hotel room for several nights and are concerned about their drinking water and the safety of their property. They took their pets with them when leaving their property. 

"I obviously started thinking about explosions so I called my husband," Kerrie Ham said. "She was panicking," Matthew Ham said. 

Columbiana Fire officials gave residents permission to go back into their homes with an escort if they needed to collect any forgotten valuables Tuesday evening. 

Additionally, Diane Less of Angels for Animals tells 21 News that any pet owners who were evacuated from their homes may bring them to Angels for Animals for shelter. 

If you need to bring your pets, you're asked to call Angels for Animals at 330-549-1111.