MONROEVILLE, Pa. -- All residents are back in their homes after more than 700 gallons of gasoline leaked into the ground after a safety valve malfunctioned at a Monroeville gas station Monday.

A major cleanup is under way and the Department of Environmental Protection is at the scene to determine the long and short-term effects of the situation.

Environmental cleanup crews have been on the job since the early-morning hours, when gasoline spilled from a Sunoco station along Route 22 in the Alpine Village section of Monroeville. Crews say the gas leaked underground, through the soil and into Abers Creek.

"There was a safety valve on there that malfunctioned. Obviously, they didn't know that when they were filling the tanks," said Monroeville Mayor Greg Erosenko. " When they were filling the tanks, that overflow valve should have stopped it. It didn't. It actually released it into the ground."

Crews are sucking gasoline from the creek, but the DEP said more than 200 dead fish were found in less than a mile of Abers Creek. The Abers Creek flows into Turtle Creek, a popular fishing spot.

"The Fish (and Boat) Commission was out at the site, and they walked a little over half a mile and counted about 200 fish that had been killed," said DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys.

The Sunoco property owner will have to conduct an environmental assessment where soil and water samples are taken. It will take several months to determine all the long-term effects from the spill.

Kathy Dunn was able to bring her dogs home Tuesday morning after a sleepless night at a hotel.

"You're worried that your house is going to be gone. The village is going to burn to the ground. So it was spooky," said Dunn. "We were told when this gas station went in that this would never ever, ever happen. So it's kind of disheartening to know that it can happen."

WTAE Channel 4's Shannon Perrine reported Monday night the smell in the area was nauseating as gasoline continued to leak through the 11 p.m. hour.

"They said there was a rainbow color in the creek and that it's gasoline that's making it smell real bad," said Judy Klein, who was evacuated.

Authorities shut down a portion of Alpine Village Drive during the night and officials established a shelter at the senior citizens' center near Gateway High School.

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