Dozens of Hollywood residents were spending the night at a shelter after a Los Angeles utility construction crew ruptured an underground natural gas line Saturday morning, prompting precautionary evacuations, officials said.
No injuries were reported, according to fire officials. The Los Angeles Fire Department evacuated buildings in the area between Franklin Avenue, Hollywood Boulevard, Wilcox Avenue and Ivar Avenue, according to a department tweet.
Eighty-six evacuees were spending the night at a temporary shelter at Poinsettia Recreation Center at 7341 Willoughby Ave. Buses were used to shuttle residents to the shelter.
"The smell was overwhelming," said evacuee Frank Mendez. "Some people were pretty frantic getting out really quick, and other people were just staying there not doing anything. It was like, come on, guys. Don't you know the building can explode?"
LAFD officials estimated that the gas line would be shut off at 4 a.m. Sunday.
Here is a map of the closed streets from LAFD PIO pic.twitter.com/nVaD1MAX31 — Capt Dave Storaker (@LAPDDStoraker) May 16, 2015
The leak was reported near the intersection of Yucca Street and Cahuenga Boulevard at about 11:15 a.m., according to Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Mike Lopez.
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Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews were working on testing water quality when they hit an underground gas line, according to DWP spokeswoman Carol Tucker. The lines were clearly marked, and the department was investigating what caused the rupture.
Over 100 people and 10 pets were evacuated from six buildings, while 35 people were sheltering in place, according to an LAFD tweet.
LAPD Capt. Dave Storaker tweeted that it would take between 4 and 7 hours to repair the line. The LAFD cited SoCal Gas in saying it would take at least four hours from 1:50 p.m. to stop the leak.
