A gas leak near 22nd Street and San Jose Ave. Thursday afternoon prompted the emergency evacuation of more than 100 people.
According to San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lieutenant Jonathan Baxter, the gas leak occurred at around 2:20 p.m. when a contractor working near 3316 22nd St. hit a gas line with construction equipment.
The leak prompted an emergency evacuation of the neighborhood.
Mission Local’s Ricky Rodas, who is on the scene, said the smell of gas is still in the air but fire trucks were beginning to pull out of the scene at around 3 p.m.
One man, who works at the nearby Marsh Theater on Valencia Street, said that he first smelled the gas leak when he stepped out for a cigarette break. He remembered seeing and hearing construction equipment rumbling in the area before the evacuation order.
Another man, who did not want his name published, said he was with the construction crew working on the street and confirmed that it had been a backhoe that accidentally struck a gas line.
According to San Francisco Police Department spokesman Officer Robert Rueca, the police have closed off traffic on 22nd Street between Valencia and Guerrero.
This is a breaking story and will be updated as the situation unfolds.
Minor correction: it’s San Jose Avenue, not San Jose Street.
Very true.
JE