Homes evacuated after gas leak

Ten homes in Huntington Beach were evacuated after a gas line was cut during construction, according to safety officials.

The incident occurred Monday at a housing development site near the intersection of Abigail Lane and Kendall Drive around 10 a.m., when a contractor damaged the 3-inch plastic pipe while digging with an auger, Fire Capt. Bob Culhane said.

Fire officials told residents nearby to leave the area as a safety precaution, Culhane said. He added that the fire crew wet the ground around the leak “to keep any static sparks away.”

A Southern California Gas Co. crew arrived shortly to stop the leak and make repairs, spokeswoman Angela Fentiman said. She added that there were no gas outages in the area and that the incident was resolved by 12:17 p.m.

Both Culhane and Fentiman said residents and professionals should call Dig Alert at 811 before digging around their area so that various underground lines could be identified. Culhane added that utility companies pay for the service.

“Had they done that, they could have avoided this issue,” he said.

—Anthony Clark Carpio

Twitter: @acocarpio