Gas leak shuts down 4 blocks in Mission, buildings evacuated

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A gas leak at the intersection of 24th and Hampshire streets in the Mission caused several buildings to be evacuated on Tuesday morning for about three hours, as emergency crews worked to find the source of the leak and shut it down.

A four-block radius on Hampshire Street from 23rd to 25th streets and on 24th Street from Potrero Avenue to York Street was still shut down to vehicle traffic as of Tuesday afternoon, and PG&E crews were on scene.

Lt. Mariano Elias, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Fire Department, said the department got a 911 call from a construction worker at 9:15 a.m. about a broken gas pipe at the intersection. A private firm had been doing work to replace a sewer main that morning for the Department of Public Works, said Elias and Fiid Williams, who lives on the corner and works for an artificial intelligence company that handles sewer inspections. Neither knew the name of the firm.

The crew struck a two-inch natural gas line at the intersection, Elias said, and heard a “loud roaring noise” that sounded like an “airplane engine” immediately after. Several residents and the construction worker called 911, and fire fighters rushed to the scene.

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Buildings in a 300 foot radius from the leak at 24th and Hampshire were evacuated, Elias said, and businesses were closed from about 9:20 a.m. to 12 p.m. They have since been allowed to return. There were no reported injuries or fires, he added. The 33 and 48 lines were rerouted around the perimeter of the leak.

The flow of gas was safely stopped around 11:30 a.m, according to PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian. Repair work is expected to be completed by the afternoon.

Several residents of Hampshire Street said they immediately smelled gas after the pipe was struck. Williams remembered looking out his window and seeing workers scatter in different directions from a 10 foot tall “plume” of decompressed gas. He said no one told him to leave his block, but that he noticed foot traffic wasn’t being let through and a helicopter was circling overhead.

“It wasn’t a leak,” said Chris Fisher, who lives a few doors down from Williams. “It was a gush”

Fisher’s family “didn’t stick around” to be told to evacuate, he said. They closed their windows and ran out, driving away despite Fisher’s fears about starting their car.

Marco Bargas, the front of house manager at Dynamo Donuts on 24th, said they lost a few hours of business when emergency crews told them to leave the shop at around 9:30 a.m. Bargas and their staff waited at Dolores Park for about an hour; the sidewalks were reopened by 11:30 a.m. As of 1 p.m., however, they still didn’t have gas to operate their frier.

Bargas described the noise as a “loud hissing sound” and said there has been construction on the block for a few weeks, so loud noises were not uncommon. But when a regular called to say she smelled gas, they grew alarmed. Firefighters appeared minutes later.

The owner of Taqueria San Francisco, on 24th closer to York, said that they conducted business as normal and were just told to stay inside. The restaurant had power throughout the morning. “You can’t tell employees not to work,” he said — so, they just worked.

PG&E has since responded to the scene, and its crews are digging through the street at different locations to clamp the leaking pipe. Elias said PG&E must find the source, shut off the gas pipe, fill in the construction holes, and repave the street before the area is opened again.

As of 1:30 p.m., about a dozen neon-vested PG&E workers were huddled around a hole at 24th and Hampshire streets. Pedestrians could still walk through the area.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Originally from New York City, Abigail is a recent graduate of Stanford's Journalism Master's program. She's interested in climate, community, and accountability stories, and enjoys foggy mornings with her tuxedo cat, Sally Carerra (yes, the shelter did in fact name the cat after the Porsche from the animated movie Cars).