The Chapel Hills Mall in northern Colorado Springs was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after a reported gas leak.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department tweeted just after 2 p.m. that after a “large gas line break,” the mall was being fully evacuated. Department spokesman Capt. Mike Smaldino said around 2:20 p.m. the mall had been completely evacuated with the help of mall security, and that the gas line had been shut off.

LIVE WEATHER UPDATES: Extreme winds hit 100 mph in Colorado Springs; trees, trucks toppled

“The problem we’re going to have now is just airing out the gas that’s in the mall,” he said. “What we can do is we can use now their heating and air conditioning units, and we can use that … to start getting the gas out of the mall.”

He said the break was caused by high wind activity, but said a specific cause for the break hadn’t yet been identified. He added the department didn’t yet have an estimate of how many people were evacuated.

The break was detected after an unidentified person inside the mall called to report it, Smaldino said.

He said firefighters wearing their full turnout gear and self-contained breathing apparatuses were in the mall measuring how much gas was in the mall. He said there was no current threat to public safety, but asked drivers to avoid the area.

This is a developing story. Further updates will be posted here.

Flights delayed, canceled at Colorado Springs Airport during storm

Top wind speeds around Colorado on Dec. 15, 2021: List