It’s been a long two days for dozens of South Coast residents, who are now back in their homes after being evacuated due to a major leak on a gas pipeline. What started as a routine inspection of an oil pipeline in Ventura County turned into something anything but routine.
California Resources Corporation crews checking their pipeline on Highway 150 near Richmond Road, in Santa Paula Thursday afternoon found high level of methane, but it wasn’t coming from their company’s pipeline. They contacted firefighters, and the Southern California Gas Company, which owned the leaking pipeline.
More than three dozen homes were evacuated, and about 30 people went to an American Red Cross shelter set up at the Santa Paula Community Center. Because the center didn’t have showers, the Gas Company relocated all of the evacuees to motels for the night.
The evacuation order was lifted at around 4:30 Friday morning, but crews continued repair work on the pipeline on Highway 150 for much of the day.
