The gas leak did catch fire and blazed the Fulton Street sidewalk, and PG&E has cut the gas lines in the neighborhood.
Sometime after 3 p.m. Thursday, a sidewalk was blazing on Fulton Street, and emergency personnel arrived to shut down and evacuate parts of the block. Now KPIX brings us the news that the fire was a sidewalk vent blazing because of a gas leak, and people have been evacuated from the neighborhood.
Watch what happened at 0:01 in @KTVU's broadcast: #BREAKING: Gas leak, fire in San Francisco forces evacuationshttps://t.co/Ycqxey6QhU
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) November 12, 2020
KTVU has a Periscope of the situation shot from a helicopter, seen above.
Service line hit by construction workers — 1 adult injured (Minor injury) — PGE and SFPD and SFFD on a scene working to mitigate — No structures https://t.co/4iCRaLAjiO
— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) November 12, 2020
We now know that a service line was ruptured by a member of a construction crew. According to KPIX, “one adult had suffered a minor injury.” No additional injuries have been reported.
#HAPPNOW Gas leak and fire near Alamo Square in San Francisco. All residents on Fulton Street, between Pierce and Steiner, are being told to evacuate. @nbcbayarea #SkyRanger over the scene. https://t.co/XZ2NH2jpJE pic.twitter.com/ClfHtxeC4j
— Janelle Wang (@janellewang) November 12, 2020
The tweet above from NBC Bay Area’s Janelle Wang makes the situation look like a dumpster fire, so surely there’s a “2020 is a dumpster fire” joke in there somewhere. But that’s just the camera angle, the fire is coming from a sidewalk vent. And no homes or lives appear to be in danger at this moment, so despite an afternoon scare, hopefully this is something we can look back and joke about.
A gas leak burns on Fulton Street between Steiner and Pierce Streets next to Alamo Square Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, November 12, 2020. @sfchronicle photo by @ScottStrazzante pic.twitter.com/NWjW7x3AGs
— Scott Strazzante (@ScottStrazzante) November 13, 2020
Image: Jay Barmann