Gas line explosion in San Francisco sets buildings aflame

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A gas explosion in a San Francisco neighborhood shot flames high into the air today and was burning four buildings as utility crews scrambled to shut off the flow of gas.

Construction workers cut a natural gas line, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said. Authorities initially said five of them were missing, but the entire construction crew was found safe, and no other injuries were reported.

Hayes-White said several buildings in the area were evacuated, including a medical clinic and several apartment buildings.

"It's pretty dramatic, but we have pretty good handle on it," she said.

Firefighters worked to keep the fire from spreading while Pacific Gas & Electric crews have been trying for more than an hour to shut off the natural gas line.

"It's complicated," Hayes-White said of stopping the flow of gas through the damaged pipe.

PG&E, which is under heightened scrutiny over its gas pipelines, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

A U.S. judge fined the nation's largest utility $3 million for a conviction on six felony charges of failing to properly maintain a natural gas pipeline that exploded under a neighborhood south of San Francisco in 2010.

The explosion killed eight people and wiped out a neighborhood in suburban San Bruno. California regulators also fined PG&E $1.6 billion, and the utility remains under a federal judge's watch in that case.

The fire began shortly after 1 p.m., apparently by crews working on fiber-optic wires, Hayes-White said.

"I anticipate the gas line was breached by the workers," the fire chief said.