For the second time in two days, a construction crew ruptured a gas line in University City.
The workers hit a two-inch line that runs parallel to the line struck Wednesday. The leak prompted the closure of several lanes along major roads and a controlled evacuation of a nearby medical facility. A construction crew struck a gas line along La Jolla Village Drive near Regents Road at 8:15 a.m.
“Fire trucks all showed up and started measuring the atmosphere and came over and asked us to leave the site,” said roofer Gary Luke.
His crew wasn’t the only people evacuated. Firefighters had to wait a bit to evacuate nearby Regents Medical Plaza because there were two surgeries going on. Once the surgeries were done, some of the personnel and patients were evacuated, while others were told to shelter in place.
Linda Jones drives patients to the medical facility. She said one of her clients was concerned about the traffic delays.
“She was terrified because she thought she was going to lose her appointment,” Jones said.
Reports of ruptured gas lines have been on the rise since the beginning of this year.
Local
In the first quarter of the year, 15 damaged gas lines were reported. In the second quarter the number of reports jumped to 36. In the third quarter 50 gas line breaks
San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Grace Yamane said it’s unusual to see such an increase in gas line breaks.
"Hopefully this one won't take as long as the one in Little Italy yesterday," Yamane said.
San Diego Gas and Electric crews suggest construction crews and project managers call 811. Crews will come out to any property and mark hidden gas lines to avoid future breaks.
