By Cecily Barnes
Construction workers replacing water pipes along Saratoga Avenue on Sept. 16 accidentally gouged a three-quarter-inch hole through the steel surface of a gas main. The gas leak, which was reported at 1:15 p.m., sprayed fumes into the air for close to three hours before it was finally clamped off by PG&E workers at 3:52 p.m. Disgruntled drivers making their way along Saratoga Avenue were detoured down Herriman Road after sitting in traffic that was backed up to Coe Avenue.
"I tell you, I am so sick of that Saratoga Avenue," said Cindy Anderson, who drives down the street every day to get to work. "Every day they're doing something different to it."
Two homes and parts of Sacred Heart Church were evacuated. However, Dave Olivo, construction supervisor of PG&E's gas department, said the gas was not dangerous or harmful.
"In this situation it wasn't dangerous [because] there's plenty of air," Olivo said. "If it was [dangerous], we would all be wearing respirators."
Natural gas is used for cooking and other household purposes. It can be dangerous if limited to a confined space, but out in the open experts claim it will not cause any negative side effects.
Then why were two buildings evacuated? "It's a routine procedure," explained Saratoga Fire Department's Beau Rahn.
According to Olivo, this sort of thing happens all the time. Construction workers digging underground are unable to spot gas mains, and it's hard to avoid puncturing them, he said.
"There's a whole set and series of procedures that we go through to make sure this never happens," explained PG&E spokesman Scott Blakey, "but sometimes despite all these precautions, it does happen."
According to Blakey, every time a reportable incident occurs, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is notified, and PG&E performs a follow-up investigation.
"They look at such things as what happened, how this could be prevented and who is liable," Blakey explained. "There is also a special team that goes in to see how things can be safer."
Monday afternoon's gas leak fit PG&E's criteria of a reportable incident. Thus, a written report will be filed with the CPUC, and follow-up investigations should occur. But according to Olivo, the leak had very few negative effects on the public.
"The road was blocked off, and there was a lot of inconvenience for the public," he said. "That's about it."
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, September 25, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved