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Uploaded: Saturday, October 20, 2012, 10:57 PM
Updated: Monday, October 22, 2012, 8:02 AM
Workers break gas line at Foothill Expressway
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by Eric Van Susteren
Palo Alto Weekly Staff
Workers broke a natural gas pipeline at Foothill Expressway and Hillview Avenue early Friday morning, Oct. 19, causing Palo Alto Utilities to shut the line down and police and firefighters to evacuate a nearby children's camp.
Pipeline workers were digging a trench for a new replacement 24-inch natural gas pipeline when they struck an existing 6-inch natural gas line at 2:17 a.m., according the Palo Alto Fire Department.
The pressure in the line was 40 to 60 pounds per square inch, allowing for a significant amount of gas to escape.
At the time of the break, 21 children were attending an outdoor camp and sleepover at the Foothills Tennis and Swimming Club, adjacent to the break.
Police evacuated the children at the camp to a nearby building at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Hospital, and Foothills staff extinguished an active campfire.
By 3:30 a.m., Palo Alto Utilities had shut down the line by closing various valves. The hospital was required to switch to emergency oil fuel backup.
Palo Alto Fire Units officially closed the incident at 4:05 a.m. There were no injuries reported.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Sony, a resident of the College Terrace neighborhood, on Oct 21, 2012 at 11:40 am So, this happened between 2 A.M. and 4 A.M? What are those kids doing up so late? And why is the contractor working in the middle of the night? Oh, did you mean 2 p.m. and 4 p.m? Someone should edit copy before it goes to print. Just saying.
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Posted by @Sony, a resident of Los Altos, on Oct 21, 2012 at 1:54 pm Sony, the article is correct. They're working during the night because of significant disruption to traffic.
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Posted by Decline to state, a resident of another community, on Oct 23, 2012 at 2:12 pm My son was in that "camp," which was a sleepover night for the swimming team that swims at Foothills (PASA). The kids have this sleepover night ("Shyogo Night") once per year as a special treat. They swim, then play, then swim some more, than watch movies, and stay up really late. Parents come pick them up in the morning and then bring them home for a LONG nap. Always a great, enjoyable experience for all. Except that once.
We got the call around 3:30 AM to come pick up our kids at the VA Hospital, where they had walked from Foothills. There was a strong gas smell in the air when we got there, despite the VA Hospital being about half a mile away from the club. Fortunately, no one was hurt and no one was too badly inconvenienced, although no one relishes getting a call at 3:30 in the morning to hear that their kid and many of their friends are in danger from a serious gas leak. Making it worse: they had a campfire going that night, which they put out in a hurry!
Great and professional job done by the police and fire/emergency workers!
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