ORANGE : Break in Gas Line Causes Evacuation
An employee of a street-paving company accidentally broke a natural gas main Tuesday morning, prompting an evacuation of about 40 people from the area for several hours while gas company workers repaired the damage, authorities said.
A 4-inch hole in the gas line in the 1300 block of Katella Avenue was patched at 2:15 p.m., said Frieda Hayes, an assistant administrator for the Orange Fire Department. No one was injured.
Hayes said a Vernon Paving Co. worker was operating heavy machinery during a reconstruction project along Katella when he punctured the gas line about 11 a.m.
Six Fire Department units responded and ordered the evacuation of a nearby restaurant, a motel and a strip shopping center.
Meanwhile, gas company workers sealed the hole and clamped it shut.
Vernon Paving has been contracted to repave a section of Katella between the Costa Mesa Freeway and California Avenue. That section of Katella was closed to traffic for about three hours, Hayes said.
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