Calif. Dispatch Center Emptied After Gas Line Ruptures

Feb. 18--About 30 people, including police and fire dispatchers, were evacuated in downtown Healdsburg Friday evening after a driver ran over a curb and ruptured a gas line.

No one was hurt in the 5:10 p.m. incident on Center Street just off the Healdsburg Plaza, Healdsburg Fire Marshal Linda Collister said.

Firefighters were able to cap the gas line in about 10 minutes.

The driver, a 61-year-old man, may have mistakenly hit the accelerator when he was trying to brake, Collister said. He was not injured and not suspected of being impaired.

"We think it was just an accident," she said.

The incident caused the evacuation of a winery nearest the gas meter, the police department, a restaurant, spa and jewelry store. No events were happening on the nearby square, Collister said.

Shortly after the crash, the manager of the Oakville Grocery store alerted police, who quickly evacuated the adjacent businesses, Collister said.

The man's car threaded an opening between a building façade and a tree.

"We were lucky no one was on the sidewalk," she said.

A wine bottle display in front of RoadHouse Winery wasn't so lucky. It didn't survive.

The countywide dispatching system RedCom took over 911 dispatching calls during the incident. Sonoma County Sheriff's Office units were called to back up busy Healdsburg crews, but they were called off once the line was capped and the immediate danger passed, Collister said.

Roads were briefly closed at Center and Matheson streets. But most businesses were cleared to reopen in within an hour.

"There could have a lot more loss of revenue, but we turned it off pretty quickly," Collister said. "We're just glad the gentleman driving is OK and no one was hurt."

Copyright 2012 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.