LEETONIA — Village mayor Kevin Siembida was breathing a sigh of relief Thursday afternoon, 24 hours after a work crew caused a major gas leak.

As of around 4:30 p.m., he had been notified that all but 70 customers, mostly in neighboring Washingtonville, had had their Columbia Gas service restored.

Officials were notified Wednesday afternoon that a third-party contractor for OmniFiber had struck a gas transmission line servicing both villages near Somer and Lisbon streets, resulting in an evacuation within 500 feet.

Siembida credited Leetonia fire for  the swift response.

“It could have been a lot worse,” he said. ” These things happen.’