Building Evacuated Due to Ruptured Gas Line; Traffic Diverted on Melrose

By City News Service

A West Hollywood building was evacuated and three homes lost service Wednesday afternoon due to a gas line rupture at an adjacent construction site.

The leak at 8428 W. Melrose Ave., near La Cienega Boulevard, was reported at 1:37 p.m., said county fire Inspector Keith Mora.

"A three-inch gas line broke at the site," Mora said. "We evacuated the building as a safety precaution and notified the gas company to send repair crews to fix the line."

Southern California Gas Co. spokeswoman Denise King told City News Service that a back-hoe operator inadvertently cut the gas line.

"We have crews on site that are trenching (digging) in the street to pinch the line and stop the leak," King said about 3:45 p.m. "The crews will then make repairs to the line and then we'll have to check the three homes that lost service to make sure everything is safe."

King said the leak should be capped by 4:30 p.m., with several more hours needed to complete the repair process.

As a safety precaution, King said authorities were diverting traffic from a number of blocks surrounding the leak site on Melrose Avenue.