Gas Leak Closes Freeway

Thousands of people were evacuated Monday and a five-mile stretch of freeway was shut down for more than seven hours after a construction crew punctured a 12-inch natural gas pipeline near UC Riverside.

Authorities feared a fire or an explosion and quickly evacuated about one square mile after the 4:30 p.m. accident. The evacuation was expanded late Monday night because natural gas has a tendency to lay down in cooler temperatures, said Fire Department spokesman Tedd Laycock. Up to 5,000 people were forced from their homes, with Riverside police going door to door and making amplified announcements from patrol cars.

Officials were sampling the air to determine how much of the area was at risk of explosion, Laycock said.

The accident happened where the Pomona Freeway intersects Interstate 215 as crews were demolishing an overpass as part of a freeway widening project, Laycock said. As midnight drew close, Southern California Gas Co. workers were still attempting to stop the leak and hoped to be done within an hour or so, according to Riverside police officers briefed on the repair job.

The California Highway Patrol closed on- and off-ramps of Interstate 215 near the leak, and Highway 60 was closed in both directions for five miles between Riverside and Moreno Valley, officials said.

The evacuated area included the Riverside Sports Center and many of UC Riverside’s off-campus apartments.

University Village, a commercial center that includes a bookstore, a coffee shop, several restaurants and businesses, was also shut down.

Early in the evening, before the evacuation zone was expanded, Starbucks employees, still wearing their aprons, milled about. Students chatted on their cellphones.

UC Riverside junior Elias Farfan had been on his way to Starbucks to study for his midterms when he was met by police.

“Well, I can’t study tonight or prepare for my labs tomorrow, and by the time they fix it, I’ll just be ready to say good night,” he said.

“We had no idea why we were out here,” Farfan said. An evacuation center was set up at the Bobby Bonds Sports Complex, where about 150 evacuees waited Monday night, said Officer Felix Medina.