Explosion Causes Multi-Structure CA Blaze

Authorities have shut down Highway 1 in West Marin after an explosion set off a multi-building fire in downtown Stinson Beach, leaving behind a field of debris.

The explosion was reported at 8:42 a.m. Tuesday on the 3400 block of Shoreline Highway, said Laine Hendricks, spokeswoman for the Marin County Fire Department.

Two people who suffered minor injuries refused medical treatment and were released at the scene.

Two buildings have been reported destroyed. One building experienced major damage and a fourth endured moderate damage, Hendricks said.

The fire has been contained and there is no threat to the community, Hendricks said.

The roof of one building and debris from the explosion were laying in the middle of Shoreline Highway as firefighters battled the blaze.

The California Highway Patrol shut down the highway to clean up the debris field.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews have de-energized the area while authorities investigate the cause of the explosion.

Resident Ginny Felch, who lives about a half-mile away, said the explosion woke her.

“I went outside and saw thick black plumes of smoke blowing up towards our home,” she said. “I never heard anything like it. I thought it was a car crash with a tanker or something.”

Felch drove down to the main drag and saw the aftermath. “I’m pretty shaken up,” she said.

Michelle Fox who is staying at a home two blocks away from the incident said she felt the ground shake, which caused her to dart out of the house into the street.

“It was brutal,” she said. “I thought it was an earthquake and the roof over my house was caving in.”

When she saw the remains of the explosion she said “it looks like a warzone.”

Sheriff’s deputies, firefighters from Stinson Beach, Bolinas and Marin County fire departments responded to the incident.

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