PG&E Caps Gas Pipeline Leak on Highlands Court

A construction worker hit a shallowly buried PG&E natural gas line Saturday morning, sending streams of natural gas vapors into the air above the unoccupied home at 14 Highlands Ct. in Belmont.

Reuben Abalos was digging a trench to bury electrical wires when his pick hit the pipeline. He stopped immediately once he realized he had cracked the gas line and noticed the vapors spewing out. It was unclear at the time whether Abalos or a neighbor called emergency crews.

Police and fire crews responded but could only secure the area while they waited for a PG&E repairman to shut off the leaky pipe.

Belmont-San Carlos firefighters Ken Mitchell and Ben Cargile were on the scene along with crews from San Mateo County fire. Both Mitchell and Cargile also responded to the San Bruno pipeline explosion on Sept. 9, 2010.

“It tightens your throat a little bit—especially now,” said Mitchell, a hazmat specialist. “The order of magnitude are smaller on these types of leaks, but you have to take them all seriously.”

Another firefighter on the scene said these types of construction or maintenance incidents involving hitting a gas pipeline are not uncommon, and that PG&E would have the gas shut off within 5 minutes. He added that the pipeline was shallow, and that they are supposed to be deeper in the ground.

A PG&E maintenance worker arrived and shut off the pipeline within minutes and waited while another crew came out to make repairs. He declined to comment, stating that the company’s media department handled all questions.

Neighbors were calling the homeowner who was away on vacation.