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September 15, 2023
West Whittier, CA– Today, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is raising concerns about a recent gas leak that forced the evacuation of 75 residents in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Los Angeles County Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department officials responded to reports of a major gas leak on Vicki Drive in West Whittier at 1:30 am on September 14, 2023. Residents who had no where to go spent the night at an evacuation center set up by the Red Cross.
“This was unacceptable, and it raises serious concerns about the state of SoCal Gas infrastructure that a leak of this magnitude was able to happen,” wrote Supervisor Hahn to SoCal Gas CEO Scott Drury. “I am asking for you to conduct a full investigation into this gas line break. It is important that the residents who were put through this ordeal have answers about what went wrong, and it is necessary that the County has assurances that SoCal Gas will not allow this to happen again and that this incident is not a sign of an even larger problem.”
The gas leak was significant enough that clouds of gas could be seen coming from the sidewalk above the leak. The leak was not stopped until after 8 am when residents were finally able to return home. Still, some residents did not have gas for hours after the evacuation order was lifted.
The full letter:
September 15, 2023
Scott Drury
Chief Executive Officer
Southern California Gas Company
555 West 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Dear Mr. Drury,
I am writing to you regarding my deep concern over a recent incident in my district in Unincorporated West Whittier. In the middle of the night in the early hours of September 14th, a major gas leak was discovered on Vicki Drive. Our LA County fire fighters and Sheriff’s deputies responded quickly and evacuated 32 homes and over 75 residents in the middle of the night. Some residents had no where to go and had to spend the night with their children in an evacuation center set up by the Red Cross.
This was unacceptable and it raises serious concerns about the state of SoCal Gas infrastructure that a leak of this magnitude was able to happen.
I am asking for you to conduct a full investigation into this gas line break. It is important that the residents who were put through this ordeal have answers about what went wrong, and it is necessary that the County has assurances that SoCal Gas will not allow this to happen again and that this incident is not a sign of an even larger problem.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
JANICE HAHN
Chair, Board of Supervisors
County of Los Angeles
