A gas leak led to road closures and some evacuations in the Bankers Hill area near Balboa Park Wednesday, officials confirmed.
The gas leak was reported around 11:45 a.m. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said a natural gas line had been broken and was blowing at Sixth Avenue and Nutmeg Street, near St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Balboa Park.Firefighters arrived within five minutes.
By 1:35 p.m., Alec Phillip, a spokesperson for the City of San Diego said evacuations were underway, limited to the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Nutmeg Street. Phillip didn’t have a headcount as to how many people had been evacuated.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Police Department shut down both vehicle and pedestrian access to surrounding streets, including Sixth Avenue and Nutmeg Street and Sixth Avenue between Laurel and Olive streets.
Traffic was being diverted at Maple and Olive Streets, as well as Fifth Avenue.
San Diego Gas & Electric crews were at the scene inspecting the broken gas line and trying to cap it.
SDG&E said the 2-inch gas pipe had been broken by a third-party contractor just before noon. No injuries were reported and, as of 1:25 p.m., there were no gas outages in the area.
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Just before 2:45 p.m., police said the gas leak had been repaired. Firefighters and SDG&E officials planned to remain at the scene for some time, completing a walkthrough to make sure the area was safe.
Police reopened the roads by 3:10 p.m. and canceled the traffic alert for the area. Police said motorists should use caution while driving in the area, as work crews were still at the scene making repairs to the gas line.
