Massive explosion just south of San Francisco - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

OBCT · 09-09-2010, 08:06 PM

Breaking news.

News articles:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BADP1FBJRS.DTL

http://www.californiabeat.org/2010/0...n-mateo-county

http://sfist.com/2010/09/09/huge_exp...sive_san_b.php

Video links:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/livenow?id=7659504

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=68773@kpix.dayport.com

Will continue to post updates as they come.

[BTW, this is 25 miles north of me!!] :O

Rathji · 09-09-2010, 08:10 PM

That fire is HUGE. Like 10 or 12 houses

OBCT · 09-09-2010, 08:14 PM

Apparently witnesses think they heard an airplane go down, but no evidence of such has yet to come up (which is strange if indeed a plane did go down).

Speculation now is that a burst natural gas main is what continues to fuel the fire.

Rathji · 09-09-2010, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBCT

Apparently witnesses think they heard an airplane go down, but no evidence of such has yet to come up (which is strange if indeed a plane did go down).

Speculation now is that a burst natural gas main is what continues to fuel the fire.

Yeah it has to be fueled by something other than plane fuel. It has been burning for an hour now and is going strong. That fire is like 4 or more stories high.

Ducay · 09-09-2010, 08:20 PM

That is a monstrous flame.....Its not like 1 big fireball, it looks like a natural gas flare times about a million (ie Its like a continuous fireball)

Unreal

edit: for those who arn't watching the news, its basically a city-block sized flamethrower on full blast

Weiser Wonder · 09-09-2010, 08:20 PM

Wow, that fire is huge.

Rathji · 09-09-2010, 08:22 PM

http://twitpic.com/2mvr6m

OBCT · 09-09-2010, 08:27 PM

Wow, this is frightening.

Apparently, the region's utility company has confirmed that it is indeed a natural gas main with pipes @ 2 ft. diameter that they cannot (for some reason?) shut off!

Most news outlets are backpedalling on early unsubstantiated reports of a plane crash starting this off. New speculation is that the broken pipe/reservoir of natural gas (that is still spewing flames) is to blame.

OBCT · 09-09-2010, 08:28 PM

Early reports of 6 people in critical condition at a local hospital with injuries related to the initial explosion. No new info yet on injuries/casualties.

simmonjam1 · 09-09-2010, 08:33 PM

If that is a 24" transmission line, I'll bet the line pressure is 400-750 psi. The loud roar would have been the gas venting to atmosphere before it sparked.

They'll have to shut the line in upstream and downstream of that location and let the line burn out.

OBCT · 09-09-2010, 08:41 PM

Yes, simmonjam1, that's exactly what the expert they interviewed just said.

Apparently it has been confirmed that the line has been shutoff and no new gas is entering that segment of the system. He couldn't guess how much gas remained in the line or how long it might take to burn out.

Thoughts and prayers with those affected. Hope this affected less people than it looks like it must have.

OBCT · 09-09-2010, 08:47 PM

The fire is extinguished. Looks like it's burned itself dry.

Total time in flames: almost 1.75 hours. That's too long.

I wonder what the upcoming investigation will determine.

missdpuck · 09-09-2010, 08:48 PM

Definitely thoughts and prayers. Jeez.

ernie · 09-09-2010, 08:49 PM

I have a friend that lives close to the fire who is putting updates on facebook. He said the heat was just incredible when he drove by on one of the commuter routes. Blocks of houses burned.

Rathji · 09-09-2010, 08:49 PM

Seems the gas itself has mostly burnt out.

BlackArcher101 · 09-09-2010, 08:55 PM

Is it odd it's running basically in someones backyard? Do we (Alberta) use cleared right-of-ways for pipelines like this?

flylock shox · 09-09-2010, 09:10 PM

Does anyone familiar with these types of gas lines have any insight into what could have caused this?

Is this likely to be a call-before-you-dig sort of thing? How deep underground are these lines? What could cause both a rupture and ignition?

Basically, does anyone have any educated speculation?

OBCT · 09-09-2010, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Is it odd it's running basically in someones backyard? Do we (Alberta) use cleared right-of-ways for pipelines like this?

My family was wondering the same thing while watching it.

I suppose gas mains have to go somewhere in a city, but ...

a.) shouldn't they be WAY underground?
b.) shouldn't they have some sort of failsafe that allows pressure (in instance of rupture or explosion) to be discharged out of harms way instead of building up and eventually exploding in, potentially, a crowded neighbourhood?

jolinar of malkshor · 09-09-2010, 09:16 PM

Someone was probably drilling holes for posts like this farmer.

http://www.accidents.co.za/wp-conten...xplosion-2.JPG

simmonjam1 · 09-09-2010, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flylock shox

Does anyone familiar with these types of gas lines have any insight into what could have caused this?

Is this likely to be a call-before-you-dig sort of thing? How deep underground are these lines? What could cause both a rupture and ignition?

Basically, does anyone have any educated speculation?

The majority of pipeline damage is caused by third-party damage. A guy running a back hoe, etc. But it also could have been corrosion or stress cracking along the seam weld that could have let go.

The pipe would be deeper in residential areas, I would guess 5-6 feet deep. I've noticed in my travels for work that a lot of right-of-ways in the US are shared right-of-ways with high tension power lines. I don't know about this area in particular but that would be an obvious ignition source.