San Diego
Residents of a two-block area of Pacific Beach had to evacuate their homes Tuesday morning after construction workers accidentally severed a natural gas line buried under the street, authorities said.
Construction workers were cutting through asphalt at Pacific Beach Drive and Everts Street with a large saw when they hit a 1 1/2-inch diameter natural gas line laid in 1934, San Diego Gas & Electric spokesman Fred Vaughn said.
Residents living in the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Pacific Beach Drive were evacuated at 10:30 a.m. and allowed to return after the leak was stopped about an hour later, said Capt. Al Macdonald of the San Diego Fire Department. A police helicopter flew overhead and broadcast an evacuation warning.
About 50 residences lost gas service, but were expected to be reconnected by Tuesday evening, Vaughn said. The private construction crew was reportedly laying television cable.
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