UPDATED: School, 15 Homes Briefly Evacuated Following San Carlos, Belmont Area Gas Main Break

UPDATE 2:45 P.M.:

Sheriff's officials say the "shelter in place" order for the San Carlos/Belmont area near a gas main break has been lifted.

"The broken gas main has been repaired and the shelter in place has been lifted," the agency said at 2:45 p.m. "Thank you for your patience and understanding."

UPDATE 2:11 P.M.:

PG&E officials tell Patch that the flow of gas has been stopped at a gas main break that happened Thursday morning in San Carlos.

According to PG&E Spokeswoman Andrea Menniti, the break happened around 11:45 a.m. when a third party contractor was working outside Tierra Linda Middle School, in the area of San Carlos and Dartmouth avenues.

"A third-party construction crew member stuck a gas line with a backhoe," she tells Patch. "Out of an abundance of caution, the fire department evacuated the school and 15 homes."

Police said that children were attending a camp at the school, but they were relocated.

Repair crews had the flow of gas stopped within an hour and 45 minutes, according to Menniti.

"PG&E crews worked safely and as quickly as possible to stop the flow of gas around 1:30 p.m.," she said.

Full repairs are expected to be completed by Thursday afternoon. Only the school remains without gas service as of this posting.

Sheriff's officials tell Patch that a shelter in place order remains in effect for area residents, until all repairs are confirmed completed.

"We always want to stress to remind anyone to call 811 before digging," Menniti said, referring to the free service the agency takes part in which allows gas customers to find out where any underground lines may be in relation to their projects.

ORIGINAL STORY AS FOLLOWS:

San Carlos, CA– Residents in the area of San Carlos and Dartmouth avenues are being asked to shelter in place Thursday afternoon, after a gas main break was reported in front of a local school.

San Mateo County sheriff's officials said at 1:21 p.m. that the break had been reported in front of Tierra Linda School. The cause of the break is unknown at this time.

Children were attending a nearby summer camp and have been moved, police said.

"For all the parents with children at camp, the children have been relocated to the Baptist Church parking lot at Chula Vista and Alameda de las Pulgas," police said in their alert.

"All residents close to the gas main break please shelter in place," they added. " It is unknown at this time when repairs will be complete and any important updates will be sent via SMC Alert."

– Patch will update this breaking news story as more information becomes available. Refresh for the latest.

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