Local News in Brief : Gas Pipeline Explodes Near Magic Mountain
A natural gas pipeline exploded Wednesday at a Southern California Gas Co. underground storage yard just north of Valencia, igniting a 10-acre brush fire but causing no injuries.
The explosion occurred shortly before noon when a high-pressure, 16-inch pipeline ruptured near Brady Parkway and Rye Canyon Road, about 2 miles east of the Magic Mountain amusement park, said Inspector Chuck Gutierrez of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
More than 100 firefighters, assisted by a helicopter, battled the blaze for nearly 4 hours, Gutierrez said.
A gas company official said the blast involved a pipeline used to collect gas from a well more than a mile below the surface.
“It just ruptured,” company spokesman Rich Puz said. “We don’t know why.”
Workers shut off the gas flow immediately after the explosion, Puz said, and an adjacent 8-inch line was shut off as a precaution. An inspection of the lines was to take place early today as part of a company investigation, he said.
Service to gas customers was not interrupted, Puz said.
The natural gas well is one of six major underground storage facilities in Southern California, he said.
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