A gas leak prompted the evacuation of downtown Los Altos on Monday morning, as emergency and utility crews worked to resolve the situation.
A mandatory evacuation zone was set up for the downtown area between Foothill Expressway, West Edith Avenue and Main Street, according to a 9:25 a.m. social media post from the city of Los Altos. The city announced at 10:44 a.m. that PG&E had secured the gas leak.
By 11:30 a.m., city spokesperson Danielle Kang told this publication that the gas leak had been handled and that the evacuation order was lifted. Community members were able to return to downtown Los Altos, with the exception of the area around 199 First St., she said. Within about 45 minutes, 199 First St. was also opened to the public.
The evacuation came after an “audible leak” was reported in Parking Plaza North, near First Street, with a “significant amount of gas” believed to be escaping, according to an emergency alert from the Los Altos Police Department.
The cause of the leak is still under investigation, but it is believed that “a contractor performing work in the area struck a gas line,” Assistant City Manager Jon Maginot told this publication in an email.
The smell of gas was still apparent in the downtown area at close to noon on Monday.
Despite roads being open for both cars and pedestrians, many storefronts remained closed at midday. Others had already reopened or were getting ready to welcome customers.
There were no reported injuries or structures damaged as a result of the gas leak, according to the city.
Local businesses react to evacuation order
While driving to work from San Francisco on Monday morning, Ernesto Orellana, assistant manager at Fiesta Vallarta in downtown Los Altos, received a call from his sister informing him of the situation. Upon arriving in Los Altos, Orellana sat in his car a couple of blocks away from the evacuated area to wait out the order.
At around 11:30 a.m. Orellana was allowed back into the restaurant and immediately started prepping to open for the public. Though the restaurant typically opens at 11 a.m., Orellana said they probably wouldn’t be able to open until after noon.
Jamie Lucia, the clinic director at Dogma, a canine and human chiropractic fitness center, was told to evacuate this morning as she was getting ready to open for the day.
Lucia called clients to reschedule and waited to get back to work in a designated safe area near Draeger’s Market along with some other local business owners. By noon, Dogma had already welcomed a few customers and business was operating as usual.
“I think that it’s important to keep the community safe, and I thought [the evacuation] was handled very professionally and quite quickly because these things can sometimes drag on,” Lucia said. “It wasn’t a long time, and we rolled well with it.”
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