PASADENA – Officials evacuated businesses and homes and shut down a stretch of California Boulevard for more than three hours Sunday due to a ruptured gas line.
The leaking 1-inch gas line was first reported about 8:30 a.m. to the rear of a business park at California Boulevard and Lake Avenue, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. The leak was believed to have been caused by construction.
The line continued spewing natural gas more than an hour later as firefighters awaited the arrival of utility workers to shut of the flow, she said.
Authorities closed California Boulevard between Lake and Hudson avenues and businesses, as well as several apartments above them, at the northwest corner of California Boulevard and Lake Avenue, Derderian said.
Firefighters stood by with hoses in place in case of a fire, she added.
The line was repaired and the road closure and evacuations were lifted about noon, Derderian said.

PHOTO courtesy of the Pasadena Fire Department