Southern California Gas Co. crews on Sunday worked to repair and determine the cause of a rupture in a natural gas pipe in Castaic the day before, officials said, that forced the 5 Freeway to be shut down for hours and residents to shelter in place.
Exactly what broke the 34-inch transmission line was unclear, but a spokesperson for the utility on Sunday noted significant land movement was spotted near the break.
On Sunday, crews with the company were on the scene of the rupture to make an assessment of the damage and develop plans to repair the pipe, the spokesperson said in an email.
Fire and hazmat crews worked Saturday to seal the leak from a 34-inch Southern California Gas Company transmission pipeline as the smell of rotten eggs crept across large swaths of the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys.
There were no injuries reported in the incident, said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Brian Kight.
The fire department received multiple reports of the explosion around 4:20 p.m. near Ridge Route Road and Pine Crest Place, just south of Northlake Hills Elementary School.
Videos posted to social media showed orange plumes rising from a hillside that appeared to have partially collapsed.
Callers told ABC 7 Eyewitness News they heard loud booms in the Castaic area. Others likened the sound to a roaring jet engine.
A strong smell of gas quickly reached L.A. County Fire Department Station 149, a mile down the road. The Los Angeles Fire Department had multiple residents many miles away in the north San Fernando Valley report a smell of rotten eggs.
The LAFD said the leak posed no immediate threat to the city. The County Fire Department said the odor is not harmful, and that County hazmat personnel were monitoring the air quality.
The CHP closed all lanes of the 5 Freeway near Castaic from roughly 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and diverted all northbound traffic to State Route 126, while all southbound traffic was sent to State Route 138.
During the closure, traffic along the 5 and 138 was reduced to a near standstill for miles, leaving motorists stuck for hours.
Some motorists traveling during the holiday weekend resorted to water bottles and foam cups to relieve themselves — which they promptly tossed out the door. Others darted into nearby shrubs for a bit of privacy.
A gas line ruptured near Northlake Hills Elementary, in Castaic, on Saturday,
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The shelter in place order, issued at 5:40 p.m., spanned roughly 15 square miles of Castaic and advised residents to close all doors, windows and vents, and shut off HVAC systems.
After SoCalGas shut off both sides of the broken gas line, a hazmat task force worked with utility crews and firefighters to contain residual leaks.
The shelter in place orders were lifted around 9:50 p.m.
SoCalGas received no reports of residential natural gas customers experiencing outages due to the rupture, the spokesperson said.