A gas leak near Viking Avenue and Ruth Drive have prompted the immediate evacuation in the College Park area. Residents are urged not to open their doors or windows. Police said the evacuation is mandatory. Residents are asked to leave by car and call 911 only if they are unable to leave their homes. more ›

Buena Vista Elementary in Walnut Creek (2355 San Juan Avenue Walnut Creek) as been evacuated after a bomb scare or suspicious package was found at the school. We'll update as soon as we know more. Until then, police advise people to stay out of the area. Obviously. more ›

A little after 11 p.m. last night, a gas leak was reported in the Sunset, resulting in the evacuation of four homes. The gas, it seems, emitted from a house at 1831 33rd Ave. Arriving firefighters were unable to shut off the gas "because a valve was rusted shut," but PG&E crews were later able to halt the gas at around 1 a.m. Residents have since returned to their homes. No injuries were reported. [SF Appeal] more ›

San Bruno's Crestmoor Elementary School, located neat the explosion and fire site, has been evacuated this morning. This comes on the heels of two other school evacuations (at Galileo High School in San Francisco and Portola Elementary in San Bruno) over gas leaks that turned out to be false. This morning, two teachers reported turning on the heat and smelling gas. Which is what happened yesterday. Which is what happens whenever you turn on the heat after not using it for awhile. Understandably, we are a bit tense over possible gas links after last week's disaster. more ›

For the second time today, another local school was evacuated over a reported "natural-gas like smell," and just like the first time no leak was found. "At least 15 teachers on the second floor at San Francisco's Galileo High School (1150 Francisco) reported a suspicious smell at around 1:30 p.m., about 30 minutes after a smoke detector went off requiring a separate evacuation.," reports The Chronicle. more ›

A gas leak scare at Portola Elementary in San Bruno forced an evacuation this morning. Fortunately, according to the fine folks at KRON 4 Morning News, no leak was found. Whew. more ›

A Pacifica apartment building atop a bluff is in danger of falling off the cliff. After a "chunk of earth" fell from the 12-unit building at 330 Esplanade Ave yesterday, residents have been ordered to immediately evacuate. For good. "The building is not sliding into the ocean yet," explained Pacifica Chief Building Official Doug Rider."(But) the tenants are getting their stuff and packing up and getting out." Residents of said building are, understandably, freaked out and upset. They have been ordered to leave no later than 5 p.m. more ›

This just in: "Bomb squad at 135 Post near Kearny now, evacuation in order." more ›

Forty people were evacuated from a San Rafael apartment building after a gas leak spread throughout parts of Fourth Street. According to KCBS, "[a] leak in the West End neighborhood near Fourth Street and H Street was first reported on Wednesday night around 8:30 p.m.," then a building was evacuated at around 4:15 a.m. this morning. KCBS goes on to say that "PG&E expects to have both pipes capped by noon on Thursday." more ›

Skyline College in San Bruno has been evacuated after a shooting. One man, a student, has reportedly been hit in the back by an unknown gunman. Police have surrounded the building and are looking for the suspect(s). more ›

According to KRON4, evacuations and a shelter-in-place are underway at 20th Avenue and Balboa. Two suspicious devices were found in the area. SFPD and the bomb squad are on the scene, determining whether or not said packages are a threat. more ›

Some sort of ammonia spill at South San Francisco's Columbus Salame, the same meat processing plant that played host to a four-alarm fire in July, caused an early morning evacuation. Also, reports confirm that "as many as 12 ambulances are in the area of the UPS customer center at 657 Forbes Blvd., assisting those who have been exposed to the chemical through a decontamination process before releasing them." more ›

Students and employees at Hillsdale High School at 3115 Del Monte Street in San Mateo were evacuated to nearby Abbot Missle School. According to the CHP, there are reports of a pipe bomb inside the high school. KRON 4 reports that a suspect has been arrested. more ›

While containment is now at 65%, the mandatory evacuation for residents affected by the Bonny Doon wildfire in the Santa Cruz mountains has been lifted. All residents need to get back inside their home if proof of residency. Hurray! But that, of course, doesn't mean the blaze is over. According to KCBS / AP, "crews were unable to fight the blaze by air Sunday because of heavy smoke, but more than 2,100 firefighters made progress on the ground along the western and southern ends of the wildfire." As of today, the fire, which sparked last Wednesday, scorched 7,000 acres, injured five, and cost over $10 million in damages. more ›

Hundreds of residents have fled their homes after a Santa Cruz county wildfire in Bonny Doon started last night. According to CBS 5, "authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations for about 600 people on Last Chance Road, Swanton Road, Warrella Truck Trail and Rancho del Oso." (Although according to KRON 4 Morning News, said evacuations are voluntary) Evacuations center can be found at "Pacific Elementary School located at 50 Ocean St. in the community of Davenport, and the American Red Cross has established a shelter at Vintage Faith Church located at 350 Mission St. in Santa Cruz." So far, 2,300 acres have been consumed since the fire sparked a little after 7 p.m. last night. more ›

While only nine cities in the Bay Area allowed to sell "safe and sane" fireworks (i.e., sparklers, fountains, snakes, and flowers [psst, you can totally turn the latter into a mini bottle rocket by drilling a small hole in the end of the cylinder]), one of those cities, Watsonville, might curb their fiery Fourth of July fun. According to the Merc, a ban on the sale of fireworks in Watsonville might take place since the area has, well, pretty much been on ablaze for the last month or so. more ›

If you've noticed over the past couple of days, it's smells a bit smoky, a bit ashy in Baghdad by the Bay. It seems, according to CBS 5, Northern California is suffering from about 950 wildfire right now.The top half of the state is, in essence, on fire. Yikes! So far, Carmel Valley residents have been forced from their homes due to the massive blaze in the Los Padres National Forest over in Monterey County, which is the largest blaze yet. more ›

Last night's five-alarm wildfire in the San Bruno Mountains, which threatened homes in South San Francisco, has been 75 percent as of this morning. The crisp weather and fog -- which has mercifully killed this past weekend's vile heatwave -- has helped firefighters attack the blaze successfully. more ›

A wildfire on San Bruno Mountain may threaten some homes on the South side of the mountain along Sister Cities Blvd tonight. These shots, taken by a reader on Drake Avenue (across Hillside) at around 8:35 p.m., show the fire heading close to South SF as "numerous firetrucks rush[ed] to the scene along with several helicopters on hand to battle the flames from the air." The area is a new development of million dollar homes and are "in the line of fire." more ›

A fire has torched 75 to 100 at least 500 acres in Larkin Valley of Santa Cruz County between the Watsonville airport and Seascape Golf course, according to ABC 7. Also, parts of Highway 1 are currently closed in both directions in the area. (Northbound traffic, though, has been diverted at Miramonte Avenue and southbound traffic at San Andreas Blvd.) Evacuations have been orders for a few residences of the area. more ›

Just letting you know that the fire -- which as of late this afternoon has consumed thousands of acres since it started at around 5:30 a.m. this morning -- is "completely out of control" as of 4:30 p.m. San Francisco firefighters have been deployed to the scene. What with the serious winds blowing in the area, no one knows just when the fire will start to die down. Wineries have been lost, homes and school evacuated, and Arnold has declared a state emergency. more ›

For those of you with large animals (i.e., horses, emus, et al.) or even not so large animals (i.e., Sprinkles, et al.), a Capitola reader just informed us that you can take your beloved pets to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. more ›