Dozens of residents in El Cajon remained without access to gas nearly a day after a gas line was ruptured by construction workers Monday morning, San Diego Gas and Electric said.
SDG&E said they responded to a call just after 9:30 a.m. after a contractor ruptured the line on the 1080 block of Jamacha Road while digging.
At one point, as many as 150 customers were without gas before the leak was secured at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, nearly 12 hours after the rupture.
Service was restored to about half of the affected residence but as of 5 a.m. Tuesday, there were still around 80 without service, according to SDG&E.
The gas and electric company hoped to have service restored by about 8 a.m.
SDG&E crews were injecting gas into the lines so some residents were able to cook and do laundry. Brandy Hartwell was rushing to do both so she could make sure her kids were fed and their clothes didn't become moldy.
"As long as I can get them dinner we're good," Brandy said. "It's not like I can Lyft in food. If I can't cook I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do here."
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No evacuations were ordered, but residents in the area were being asked to shelter in place.
"Our goal is to keep any ignition source away from the gas in the area because, of course, if we have an ignition source we can have a fire or explosion," HFD Battalion Chief Brian Hayward said.
HFD said earlier in the evening gas service was expected to be restored by around 8 p.m. but crews were unable to make that happen.
Crews were expected to remain on the scene through the night. The utility said crews would return at 8 a.m. to restore service completely.
Jamacha Road between Kendrick Way and Gustavo Street was reduced to one open lane in each direction as of 11 p.m. Monday.
No other information was available.
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