Gas Line Break Causes School Evacuation

About 80 students and staff members were evacuated Thursday afternoon from Oxnard High School and one block of Gonzales Road was closed for about 75 minutes after a construction crew accidentally ruptured a gas line on the campus.

No one was injured but the incident snarled traffic, authorities said.

Classes had ended early for teacher training and the school’s more than 2,000 students had already left for the day, said Gary Davis, assistant superintendent of the Oxnard Union High School District.

The leak occurred on the west side of the campus as a Ventura-based contractor worked on sewer lines near the 3-inch plastic gas line, said Marty de los Cobos, regional affairs manager for Southern California Gas Co.

The evacuation and closure of Gonzales Road between Victoria Avenue and Ventura Road were precautionary measures, he said. Natural gas is lighter than air and dissipates rapidly, making the chance of an explosion “highly unlikely,” he said.

“Gas was blowing--there was some wind today--and it was blowing in the direction of the buildings and we wanted to make sure there was no problem,” Cobos said.

Still, firefighters sprayed water on the escaping gas until it was shut off to ensure that static electricity on the hot, dry day did not cause an explosion, said Terry McAnally, a battalion chief with the Oxnard Fire Department.

Firefighters also pushed half a dozen vehicles from the school’s parking lot before allowing drivers to start them because of the possibility gas vapors in the air could be ignited. Drivers were allowed to start the engines after they had been pushed a safe distance.