Local pipeline explosion shakes community

Carolina Lavorato April 23, 2017

SAN BERNARDINO, Cailf. Just two weeks after a 69-car runaway fright train

derailed and crashed into two homes, the Calnev Pipeline in the same area

exploded this morning. The explosion caused severe damage to the

surrounding area.

The explosion occurred at 8:11 a.m. in the neighborhood bounded by

Duffy Street and Highland Ave. Highland Ave has been closed due to the

eruption.

There have been four confirmed deaths as a result. The San Bernardino

County Medical Center has been treating burn victims, those who have

inhaled smoke and those with minor cuts and injuries.

As of now about 700 people have been evacuated from the area and

have been taken to the Red Cross evacuation center. According to Gregory

Garcia, the spokesperson for the mayor of San Bernardino, the center has

been set up at the Job Corps Center located at 3753 Kerry St.

The explosion set many homes in the area on fireflames reached

almost 100 feet high. Sources say that some watched their homes blow up.

Everything was burning, even the concrete, said Bill Stewart, a

witness who was a block away at the time of the explosion.

The Calnev Pipeline is owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and

carries gasoline, jet fuel and diesel from Los Angeles to refineries as far as
Las Vegas. The rupturing of the bigger 14-inch gasoline pipeline caused the

explosion.

We dont know the cause of the break. It could have been the train,

obviously, said David Andries, an official of the Calnev gas company.

Jed Robinson, general manager of the Calnev pipeline, speculated that

the valve of the pipeline might not be completely closed. If the pipeline is not

closed it can take the team longer to put out the fire. Robinson says they are

not aware of how much fuel the pipeline holds and cannot just contain the

fire and let it burn out like they would usually do when there is not a lot of

fuel.

With that kind of a volatile fuel, you have to use some sort of foam,

said Robinson. The explosion has already set seven houses on fire and the

fire is still blazing.

After the explosion the Southern California Gas Company sent workers

to shut off gas lines in the area in hopes to prevent any possible natural gas

explosions.

After the train derailed two weeks ago, we were assured by the

pipeline people it was safe and the experts who examined it said there was

no danger, said Jim Penman, the citys attorney

. As of now the cause of the rupture has not been identified but many

are looking into whether or not the derailed train caused the damage.

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