Gas Line Rupture Near Old Town Forces Evacuations

Firefighters ordered evacuations in the 600 block of South Myrtle Avenue Monday morning after a construction crew ruptured a gas line while working on a project at an apartment complex, a fire official said.

The Oak Parks North and Oak Parks South apartment buildings were evacuated at about 8:11 a.m. when a construction crew working outside the buildings cut into a gas line, Monrovia Fire Battalion Chief Ron Pelham said.

"They're doing a construction project right here and they were digging and broke the gas line," Pelham said.

The evacuations were ordered as a precaution, Pelham said. Workers from the Southern California Gas Co. were on scene after 9 a.m. to repair the lines.

No injuries resulted from the gas line rupture, Pelham said.

Terry Peel, the manager for the Oak Park apartments, called the evacuations a "minor thing." He said residents were back in their homes within minutes of the evacuations.