San Diego

Sewer Explosion in Gaslamp Quarter Forces Evacuations

 A sewer line explosion in San Diego's popular Gaslamp Quarter forced many surrounding businesses and hotel guests to evacuate, San Diego Police said. 

The HAZMAT situation happened at 7:06 p.m. at 660 K Street in San Diego.

The call originally came in when patrons at the Water Grill Bar in the Gaslamp saw smoke coming from manholes, San Diego Fire-Rescue Capt. Amador said. 

Police and Fire officials evacuated the Resident Inn and no one was allowed to head northbound on 6th Avenue. Water Grill and Bar and nearby businesses are also being evacuated. Though San Diego Fire officials initially said the Marriot Hotel was evacuated, the Director of Operations at the hotel said the hotel still has power and was not evacuated. 

As of 8:28 p.m., streets were starting to reopen and people were starting to return to the area. 

Some electricity in the area is out as a result of the explosion, police officials said. SDG&E is responding.

Amador said police believe the incident began from a fire in an underground vault for SDG&E. A SDFD Battalion Chief said the explosion was caused by a wire failure. 

No further information was immediately available. 

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story. 

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