6 Injured in Bay Area Neighborhood Gas Explosion

A gas line explosion in Hayward, Calif., sent multiple victims to the hospital and led to a fire that burned several houses.

A gas line exploded on Thursday in a Bay Area city, injuring at least six people and starting a major neighborhood fire.

A video provided by a neighbor showed a huge explosion that sent large debris flying into the air. Multiple homes on a residential street in Hayward, a city of about 163,000 people, were burning as of Thursday afternoon.

Approximately 75 fire and other emergency personnel were on scene trying to extinguish the blaze, said Ryan Nishimoto, deputy chief of operations for the Alameda County Fire Department. Aerial television footage from Thursday afternoon showed fire trucks spraying water on a car’s metal frame, as well as homes with burning roofs. At least one home appeared to have been destroyed.

It is unclear exactly what triggered the explosion.

Jason King, a spokesman for Pacific Gas and Electric, said that the utility was notified that construction crews had damaged multiple gas lines beneath Lewelling Boulevard in Hayward just after 7:30 a.m. Pacific time on Thursday. The workers had been grading the roadway.

The gas company immediately dispatched crews to the scene, and they stopped the flow of gas by 9:25 a.m., Mr. King said.

Ten minutes later, the explosion occurred on Lewelling Boulevard, Mr. King said.

A neighbor who lives across the street from the explosion site shared doorbell camera video with The New York Times. The footage showed that construction crews were still working in the area at the time of the blast.

The explosion appeared to have ripped off the roof of a home, hurtling it toward a worker operating an excavator, the video shows. Others ran and ducked for cover.

Six people were hospitalized with injuries, the authorities said. Fire crews, law enforcement officers and utility workers were not injured. No information was immediately available on whether the homes on the street were occupied at the time of the explosion.

“PG&E will be conducting an extensive investigation around potential cause and will support other investigations that may take place,” Mr. King said.

Mr. Nishimoto, the deputy chief, initially said that two people had been unaccounted for, but the Alameda County Fire Department reported late Thursday that all residents had been located.

The explosion came 15 years after one of the nation’s worst gas explosions took place in San Bruno, south of San Francisco, which killed eight people and burned three dozen houses. A federal jury found PG&E guilty of safety violations, and the company paid more than $2 billion in penalties and restitution.

Jamie Leventhal contributed reporting.

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