BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- A nearby gas line break forced Broomfield High School to be evacuated Friday afternoon.

Construction crews were drilling to install new fiber optic lines. The workers attempted to burrow underneath the gas line when a pipe ruptured at around 1:30 p.m. Students and staff smelled a strong odor of gas at the school shortly before the evacuation was ordered.

North Metro Fire and Xcel Energy crews arrived shortly thereafter and contained the gas leak.

"There are no hazards of an explosion," North Metro Fire Department spokeswoman Wendy Forbes said. "All of the students are safe."

United Methodist Church, which operates a daycare at its grounds, was also evacuated because its near to the leak.

Briggs Gamblin, spokesman of Boulder Valley School District, said students who drive to school, as well as those who walk or bike to school, were dismissed early.

The remaining students who either ride the bus, are picked up by parents or family members, or those who were not able to evacuate with their car keys, were transported to Broomfield Heights Middle School.

Students will be bused home from the middle school or parents can pick up their children there. The address of Broomfield Heights Middle School is 1555 Daphne St.

The gas line was repaired and Broomfield High School reopened by 3:45 p.m., Gamblin said. The school will keep its doors open up to 8 p.m. to allow students and teachers to retrieve items that were left in haste. The building will also be open for a few hours on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. Students and staff are requested to enter from the gym hallway.

Gamblin said the construction work was part of a district-wide project to upgrade and expand its fiber optic network. The project includes improving the wiring at 55 schools.

More than 1,400 students attend Broomfield High School.