Gas Leak in Hercules Prompts Morning Evacuations

A gas leak that prompted the evacuation of a Hercules neighborhood this morning has been stopped and the evacuation order has been lifted. The flow of gas from the break near San Pablo and Sycamore avenues was stopped at 10:27 a.m., PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian said.

A third-party digging crew doing work in the area had hit a 4-inch plastic line there, Sarkissian said. PG&E was first alerted to the gas leak at 8:34 a.m. An evacuation was ordered at 9:51 a.m. between North and South Front streets. Evacuees were initially sent to Duck Pond Park on Sycamore Avenue, but after a wind shift, they were sent to the Hercules Community Swim Center at 2001 Refugio Valley Road, county emergency officials said.

The evacuation order was lifted at about 10:45 a.m.

Hercules Council Member Myrna de Vera addressed the leak in the following letter to residents:

Dear Residents,

About a couple of hours ago, I was notified by our city manager that a major gas leak occurred at the Sycamore North/Town Centrale Project (the white-wrapped unfinished building), which initially necessitated evacuations from the adjacent neighborhood. Police responded and activated our emergency operations center. The gas leak originated from the basement of the building, and a fire was on site, but extinguished immediately. Proceeding with caution, the city opened the community center as an evacuation site and asked WestCat to provided buses to transport people from John Muir and Tshushima neighborhoods to the community center.

An hour ago, the gas line was capped and contained, so the residents were free to return home and the emergency shelter has been lifted, the emergency operations center deactivated.

Latest update: a backhoe operator for the contractor nicked a gas line in the basement of the building. The city hall staff will be debriefing on the event and the city’s response to the gas leak incident.

By Bay City News and Autumn Johnson

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