Updated: Gas Leak in Downtown Los Gatos Capped, Roads Open

Update: 4 p.m. Thursday, April 11: PG&E spokesman Jason King said the utility continues to investigate the cause of a gas leak that forced the evacuation of several businesses in downtown Los Gatos early this morning.

PG&E crews are continuing to excavate along the natural gas line at 400 No. Santa Cruz Ave., which involves hand digging. "It will take us a decent amount of time to properly do that job," King said.

Workers have not yet pinpointed the cause of the leak, he said, noting that the good news is that of the 22 electric customers who had been without service, 21 of those have had their power restored as of 3:18 p.m.

Chase Bank, however, remains in the dark until repairs are completed, King added.

Update: 12:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11: A natural gas leak has been contained following the rupture of a line this morning on North Santa Cruz Avenue in downtown Los Gatos.

The accident, whose cause is unknown, created major traffic disruptions along the busy street starting at around 10:40 a.m. when both sections of Highway 9, at North Santa Cruz Avenue, were shut down as a precaution.

A Sigalert was issued alerting motorists about a "large broken pipe" at 10:58 a.m. and that Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police was diverting traffic at University Avenue and northbound Highway 9.

Traffic was backed up to the Highway 17 entrance/exit area.

PG&E crews stopped the flow of gas at about 11:30 a.m. and the leak occurred on a small service line that serves a home, said PG&E spokesman Joe Molica. "We're still investigating what caused the gas leak, whether or not a power outage may have had something to do with it," he said.

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Merchants who work on North Santa Cruz Avenue in downtown Los Gatos are reporting that a natural gas leak early Thursday morning shut down Chase Bank and several blocks of the busy thoroughfare.

"It's right in front of the bank," said the manager of one of the nearby businesses who declined to be identified. 

He and other merchants reported that Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police are on the scene, 400 No. Santa Cruz Ave., along with Santa Clara County firefighters and a utility company trying to contain the leak.

North Santa Cruz Avenue is closed off from Highway 9 to North University going toward Saratoga, they said.

Highway 9 is also closed off in both directions at North Santa Cruz Avenue.

Employees at the bank were evacuated. It's not known at this time what caused the leak. No injuries have been reported.

—Los Gatos Patch will update this story as soon as more information becomes available.