Shoppers allowed back inside Hadley Walmart, Barnes & Noble after evacuation

HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) - Two of Hadley’s busiest stores were evacuated for about half an hour on Thursday afternoon due to the smell of natural gas being detected there.

Around 2:00 P.M. shoppers were forced to leave the Walmart and Barnes and Noble stores at the Mountain Farms Mall shopping plaza.

By 2:30, shoppers were allowed back inside, when it was determined that everything was safe.

There has been an increase in calls about natural gas smells across western Massachusetts since a gas leak on Worthington Street led to a massive explosion on November 23.