A crew planting a tree on the 500 block of Fitch Street damaged a four-inch natural gas line on Tuesday, resulting in the evacuation of a city block and an all-day repair job.
According to the Healdsburg Police Department, the 911 call about a broken gas line came in at 11:21 a.m. A few minutes later, Healdsburg fire and police personnel had the street blocked off and were banging on doors, asking residents to evacuate. The hissing sound of the escaping gas could be heard up and down the block.
“We evacuated the people who live nearby and we have the junior high school (half a block away) staying inside their classrooms,” said Healdsburg Police Sergeant Luis Rodriguez.
Fitch Street resident Faya Ashton was sitting on the curb at Grant and Fitch around 11:45, checking her smartphone. “They all responded quickly,” she said, referring to public safety personnel. “I think they (the work crew) were digging up the stump from a tree that was cut down.”
Art Read, who lives across the street from the gas line break, said he was “riding my bike to the coffee shop when the guy hit it.” Read and his dog took the opportunity to go for a long walk.
The repair job was lengthy and involved. PG&E crews didn’t get the gas shut off until 5:07 p.m., according to PG&E spokesperson Jacqueline Ratto.
Crews had to dig deeply into the sidewalk south of the break to find a valve and shut off the gas.
Once the gas was off, another hole had to be dug around the pipe, so welders could climb in, cut away the damage and weld in a new section. Ratto said repairs were completed by 9 p.m. and gas was restored to 17 PG&E customers by 9:35 p.m.
