Gas line ruptures on Knight Way

Firefighters from L.A. County Fire Station 82 closed off a segment of Knight Way at about 2 p.m. Tuesday after landscapers fractured an underground gas main in front of a home on the northwest corner of Knight and Paulette Place.

The swoosh of gas rushing from the high-pressure main line could be heard several doors down as team of firefighters led by Capt. Chris Swartz waited for Gas Co. employees to shut off the line.

The incident occurred more than 500 feet from Paradise Canyon Elementary, but traffic along Knight was blocked off from Paulette to as far west as Oliveta Place.

Landscapers were using a Bobcat front-end loader to grade for installation of a new driveway when they struck the roughly two-inch diameter line, said Capt. Chris Swartz.

Four fire engines responded to the scene and a Sheriff’s patrol car blocked traffic at Oliveta.

-Joe Piasecki