Residents Move Back Home After Gas Leak, Fire, Flooding In Menlo Park

MENLO PARK, CA – About 12 residents are back in their Menlo Park apartments this morning after they were evacuated Tuesday night when a gas leak ignited, fire officials said.

The displaced residents stayed in the lobby of the Rosewood Sand Hill hotel until the gas and water leaks were stopped, Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said this morning.

A PG&E worker was doing electrical work in a hole near the apartment complex in the 300 block of Sand Hill Circle when a spark lit a hidden gas leak at about 8:30 p.m., Schapelhouman said.

The fire burned through a water main, which started spraying water 10 feet into the air and flooded the area.

The worker was wearing flash protection gear and was uninjured.

Flames from the fire were 6 feet high.The geyser of water put out the flames by 9 p.m., but once the
fire was out, the gas leak started to spread so 20 residents of the apartment building were evacuated.

PG&E crews shut off the gas in 20 minutes, and the water was shut off in 45 minutes.

Eight to 10 residents who did not stay in the hotel were able to reenter their units after the gas and water breaks were capped, Schapelhouman said.

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