VIDALIA — Several residences on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Vidalia had to be evacuated briefly Wednesday afternoon after a gas line broke.

At approximately 12:30 p.m., an operator on a mini-backhoe accidentally broke a gas line, Fire Chief Jack Langston said.

The fire department was able to plug the leak until the gas company could arrive and cap the line, Langston said.

Until the line was capped, the residences immediately surrounding the gas line were evacuated.

The evacuation lasted approximately 15 minutes, Langston said.