By Mary O’KEEFE

A gas leak that occurred about 1:30 p.m. on Monday was contained after several hours of work that included evacuations of residents and a lot of jackhammering of the road. The gas line was located on La Crescenta Avenue at Orange Avenue.

The gas could be heard escaping the line after a Crescenta Valley Water District subcontractor ruptured the pipe while digging a trench for a new water pipe during infrastructure improvements. Los Angeles County Fire Dept. and LA Sheriff’s Dept. responded to the incident, as well as representatives of Crescenta Valley Water District and The Gas Company.

According to a CVWD spokesman at the scene, workers for the subcontractor, Robert Brkich Construction, immediately shut down the streets 500 feet in all directions. The LASD sent out an alert stating there were mandatory evacuations of nearby homes. Deputies went door-to-door making certain people were aware of the issue and alerting them to the evacuation orders. That alert was then downgraded to voluntary evacuations. Because the gas line broke mid-day most residents were at work and not at home.

La Crescenta Avenue was closed to all traffic from El Caminito to Henrietta Avenue. Many of the nearby side streets were also closed.

The Gas Company workers arrived shortly after they were notified. They immediately began tearing up the roadway in three areas in a triangle around the main break in the pipe as the gas continued to escape. When all three areas were excavated and the pipes exposed, clamps were put on them to stop the leak.

The gas was shut off about 4:40 p.m. and then workers began repairing the roads.

CVWD is currently conducting an investigation regarding the gas leak to discover how and why the pipe was ruptured.

“We are just relieved that there were no injuries or damages. We will continue to follow-up with our contractor and with Southern California Gas,” said Christy Scott, CVWD spokeswoman.

  Mary Okeefe