san bruno explosion
Anxious residents of a devastated San Bruno neighborhood sought reassurance from
energy company and metropolis officials at a packed and tense town hall meeting Saturday afternoon. With still no solutions about what brought on a rupture from the gasoline pipe that exploded into a fireball -- they wanted to understand regardless of whether it was safe to return to their homes.
"We need to focus on recovery," stated San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson to more than 600 residents crowded into St. Robert's Catholic church, demanding to know much more about the explosion that shook their trust within the security of the ground under their feet.
Frustrated, they sought solutions about the security from the big transmission line that pumps high-pressure gasoline from distant fields into their neighborhoods -- and the smaller pipes that enter their homes.
With more than 270 homes off-limits to residents because Thursday night, metropolis officials described a Sunday re-entry plan for the 212 homes which have been inspected and declared secure. Authorities will escort them in, and try out the security of electrical energy and gas. Land-based telephone lines and streetlights will probably be down for days.
Residents from the 58 homes that had been badly broken or destroyed will not be allowed to return yet.
"We anticipate becoming able to bring back again the huge majority of individuals back again into the neighborhood, especially those whose homes have not skilled substantial harm," said Jackson.
She cautioned: "Even though your neighborhood
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is restored, you can anticipate that the area surrounding it remains severely broken," said Jackson. Water, gas and electrical energy will probably be obtainable, although land-line phones and streetlights are not working."
In response to volleys of testy questions, PG&E spokeswoman Geisha Williams said she could not provide a map showing the location of the high-pressure transmission lines, saying, "There is a security issue associated with gasoline transmission." One resident roared out a profanity.
"We know our customers are extremely nervous, and who wouldn't be," said Williams, a vice president of the energy business. "We are going to be as responsible as we possibly can, while still retaining security. We need to learn how to do that. We don't understand how to do that. We are trying to figure out steps to make that happen." PG&E said it was inspecting the transmission line Saturday night and expected to repair the small distribution lines. It will continue doing leak surveys over the next several days and week.
One upset local resident lost his $875,000 home, which he said he recently purchased. "In all from the documents I signed, not once did they disclose that I was living on a time bomb," said David O'Brien. "I had a right to know." Pipeline security has become an increasingly contentious issue, because of so many miles of aging pipes coursing underground. A pipeline rupture in Bellingham, Wash., killed three individuals in 1999. In 2000, ten individuals camping along the Pecos River had been killed by an explosion. A 1994 explosion in Edison, N.J., incinerated three apartment buildings.
Meanwhile, federal investigators are studying San Bruno's shattered steel pipeline for clues that might explain its rupture. On Saturday, they measured it and planned to lift the huge 28-foot section gently into the back again of a truck, where it will probably be transported to the Washington, D.C.-based offices of the National Transportation Safety Board for microscopic examination. The agency is in charge of investigating the incident. The pipe was ejected 100 feet, and the pattern of its lateral break -- which could indicate a pressure change -- might provide important evidence. It gouged a 167-foot-long hole within the hard-packed ground.
To ease re-entry, blocks from the neighborhood have been divided into zones, with residents escorted back again in small groups. Identification is required to get access, and the neighborhood will probably be patrolled by police to prevent crime. PG&E workers will accompany the residents to ensure gas and electricity have been safely restored.
Homeowners had been told that they're responsible for cleanup of their houses. The dozens of charred cars lining the street will probably be towed away by the city. Environmental experts have reviewed every home to clear them all of toxic waste.
Officials urged residents to contact their private insurance company, then added that if liability is determined to belong to PG&E, all costs will be reimbursed by PG&E.
They asked about the future of the pipeline that caused such devastation.
"We are struggling with the same issues -- access, restoration and repair. We will probably be assessing regardless of whether the pipeline can be reused when we have a better sense of what happened," Williams stated.
"We don't know what made that pipeline rupture."
san bruno explosion
By: Jerry Hua
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