Gas leak forces evacuation in Marysville

Marysville authorities evacuated about 10 homes on 12th Street Tuesday afternoon after a construction mishap severed a natural gas line.

Police received reports at 3:41 p.m. that a backhoe cut into a three-quarter-inch main at 12th and Pine streets, Sgt. John Osbourn said.

Within minutes, Cal Fire personnel from the Marysville station told nearby residents to leave their homes and police closed the block between I and J streets.

A contractor was using the backhoe on the south side of the 900 block of 12th Street to excavate the ground for a new water pipe, according to PG&E spokesman Brian Swanson, who said the utility received the required advance notice for digging around buried utility lines. The name of the contractor was not available.

Vehicle owners on the block also were asked not to start their engines to avoid igniting airborne gas, which could be heard hissing from the broken main more than an hour later.

A steady breeze helped disperse the gas, and Cal Fire Battalion Chief Curt Williges called the ignition risk "relatively low." However, although the first residents on the east side of the block were allowed to return home after an hour, fire and PG&E officials maintained the car-start ban and asked homeowners not to use matches, lighters, gas stoves or any appliances with pilot lights.

PG&E workers sealed the leak shortly before 7:15 p.m., and 12th Street reopened about 15 minutes later. Four homes in the neighborhood lost gas service because of the accident, and work to restore service was expected to last into the night, the utility said.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.