Pipeline explosion devastates residents

Nia Brown

November 14, 2016

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. An explosion in San Bernardino has left residents

devastated. The explosion took place at 8:11 a.m. near the intersection of Duffy Street
and Highland Avenue.
According to David Andries, an official of the Calnev Gas Company, a rupture in the
Calnev Pipeline caused the explosion.
The rupture caused the pipeline to spray fuel on the surrounding houses, many of which
caught fire and exploded.
We were sitting at the table and we heard this loud noise, and it just started getting
bigger, said Bill Stewart, an insurance agent who was visiting a client in the area. We
looked outside. The grass was burning Everything was burning, even the concrete.
Damage to the surrounding areas has been extensive.
With that kind of a volatile fuel, you have to use some sort of foam, said Calnex
Pipeline General Manager Jed Robinson.
Firefighters and emergency response crews are still working hard to evacuate and secure
the area. At this time, approximately 700 people have been taken to the Red Cross
evacuation center.
There have been two reported fatalities and 13 injuries. Injuries are being treated at the
San Bernardino County Medical Center.
Southern California Gas Co. workers have been dispatched in the area to shut off gas
lines to avoid any possibility of natural gas explosion.
Valves along the pipe are designed to stop backward flow of fuel. However, a valve near
the fire may not be completely closed and could influence clean up time.
We dont know the cause of the break, said Andries. It could have been the train,
obviously.
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Just two weeks prior to the explosion, a 69-car runaway freight train derailed in the same
neighborhood. The derailed train crashed into a string of homes and killed four people.
We were assured by the pipeline people it was safe, San Bernardino City Attorney Jim
Penman said.
The Calnev Pipeline is a 550-mile buried oil pipeline stretching from Colton to Nevada.
The pipeline is owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners.
The cause of the rupture is still unknown.

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