There were some scary moments this morning in the San Bruno neighborhood destroyed by a faulty gas line nearly two years ago.
PG&E says a contractor cut what PG&E called a small gas line along Glenn View road about 10:50 a.m.. The cut happened at the same intersection of the gas explosion in September 2010 that killed eight people and destroyed or damaged dozens of homes.
The site was was a home under construction that was destroyed in the 2010 blast. .
The pipe that was cut Thursday is described as a 2-inch plastic pipe. PG&E said the contractor was using a backhoe in an area that was only approved for hand digging.
People in the neighborhood said they could hear gas escaping the line.
The KGO helicopter pilot over the scene told KGO that he could smell gas from his helicopter.
Fire crews were on the scene as of 11 a.m. People in the immediate area were told to evacuate for a short time, according to reports.
PG&E told NBC Bay Area the pipe was capped at 11:25 a.m. They said on a danger scale of 1 to 10, Thursday's incident was about a 3.
Local
No injuries were reported.
By the close of business Thursday, the contractor responsible for the break apologized to the citizens of San Bruno.
“I offer my sincerest apologies to the citizens of San Bruno on behalf of myself, my crew and my company,” said Matt Shaw, owner of Shaw Pipeline Co. of San Francisco. “We understand how sensitive this community still is from the PG&E explosion of September 2010 and we are deeply sorry to have caused additional and unnecessary concern.”
Shaw Pipeline was hired by the city of San Bruno to replace and repair water and sewer lines destroyed in the 2010 PG&E explosion and fire.
Shaw also agreed to additional safety and digging protocols to prevent future accidents.
