A gas main break in Commerce prompted evacuations of homes and apartments Tuesday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
A resident reported the smell of gas just after 2:40 p.m. in the 1400 block of South Sydney Drive. Officials stopped the leak by about 5:30 p.m.
A man doing construction work at his home ruptured the gas main as he was digging, said LA County Fire Battalion Chief Mike Brown.
About 20 residents from five homes and an apartment complex had to leave their homes as authorities sealed the area.
The city of Commerce provided short-term shelter for those evacuated at the Bristow Park Community Center at 1466 S. McDonnell Ave.
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