An explosion tore through the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno Thursday evening, igniting a fire that engulfed homes in flame and seriously injured at least five people.
The explosion was caused by a high-pressure gas line operated by PG&E Corp., the utility that serves the Bay Area, news stations reported. A PG&E spokesman said the cause wasn’t yet known.
A plane and a helicopter dropped retardant in an effort to contain the fire, and more planes were being dispatched by state emergency officials. Residents evacuated from nearby neighborhoods and gathered at a shopping center where authorities set up a relief unit.
“We have crews on the scene and are working with emergency officials to determine what the cause is,” Andrew Souvall, PG&E spokesman, said on KTVU-TV Channel 2 in San Francisco. “It is unknown at this point what the actual cause is. Our effort now is to make the area safe.”
About two-dozen homes appeared to be engulfed in flames as of 12:30 a.m. eastern time, and the northbound lane of Highway 280 through Silicon Valley was closed, news stations reported. The suburb of San Bruno is near San Francisco International Airport.
Fire trucks gathered on the perimeter of the fire zone, and firefighters went house to house dousing engulfed structures with water.
Critical Condition
Three victims were taken to Seton Medical Center in Daly City. One was transferred to St. Francis hospital burn center in San Francisco with severe burns, Elizabeth Nickels, spokeswoman for Seton hospital said. The two others that were treated have been released.
Two people with burns are in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital, spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said in a telephone interview.
Saint Francis Memorial Hospital is treating three fire victims, according to Theresa Edison, a spokeswoman for the hospital. Two are in a critical condition and one is stable, Edison said.
Mills Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame received 16 patients, all with minor injuries, said Jane Schulze, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
“The major fire in San Bruno, apparently caused by a ruptured gas main, is not having any direct impact on operations at San Francisco International Airport,” said SFO spokesman Michael McCarron, in an e-mail. All airport traffic is arriving and departing normally, he said.
The FAA has dedicated a controller in the airport’s air traffic control tower to handle aircraft involved with aerial firefighting and rescue operations.
The San Francisco Fire Department Airport Division at SFO dispatched three units to the scene as part of a county-wide mutual aid request, McCarron said.
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