About 40 Georgetown homes and businesses have been under evacuation orders for the past week as Atmos Energy works to repair an underground natural gas leak that occurred Feb. 20 at 507 River Bend Drive, Georgetown. The Georgetown Fire Department and Atmos Energy ordered evacuations of homes and businesses between the 2500 and 2900 block of Williams Drive as a precaution. Atmos Energy will host a meeting at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27 to update affected customers. The meeting will be in San Gabriel Rooms G and H at the Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center, 1101 Woodlawn Ave., Georgetown. The company also has a representative available from 9 a.m.- 7 p.m. the Holiday Inn Express, 431 N. I-35, to further assist affected residents and business owners. One of the affected businesses, Evan, Ewan and Brady Insurance Agency, located at 2404 Williams Drive, Georgetown, has temporarily set up shop in a conference room at the Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center for the past week. Receptionist and media coordinator Josie Thomas said the agency has been told the evacuation order could be in place for an additional week and possibly longer. Thomas said the agency's employees are working off laptops at the Sheraton and sitting two to a desk. “We’re doing the best that we can with what we have,” Thomas said. Thomas said she returned to the office Feb. 25 to grab some essential items. After 45 minutes in the office, she began to get a headache that she attributed to the odor of natural gas fumes. Celina Cardenas Fleites, communication manager for Atmos Energy, said the company is continuing to assist affected businesses and residents. The company has provided hotel accommodations and meals for affected residents and will continue to do so until the leak is fixed, Cardenas Fleites said. She added that Atmos Energy is also working with Georgetown fire and police departments and city officials to handle the situation as quickly as possible. “Safety is Atmos Energy’s core value, and our highly trained technicians continue to monitor the affected areas, only lifting the evacuations when it is safe to do so,” Cardenas Fleites said. Kings Pet Control is one 40 businesses and homes that have been affected by the gas leak on Williams Drive.[/caption]