# Gas Explosion in San Bruno, CA. OMG. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363 "2010-09-11T01:44:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/1 "2010-09-11T01:44:58Z")
It looks like mini-pics of Hiroshima. How are there only 4 people dead _so far?_ > **[San Bruno fire photos: Aerial views of neighborhood where explosion and fire...](https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/09/10/san-bruno-fire-photos-aerial-views-of-neighborhood-where-explosion-and-fire-killed-4/)** > > San Bruno fire photos: Aerial views of neighborhood where explosion and fire killed 4 There are 48 pics in my link. View them all. Tell me why more people aren’t dead. PG&E might have some ‘splainin’ to do. You just have to feel so bad for the residents. I’d be in a state of shock for a week if this happened to me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/2 "2010-09-11T01:58:47Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > It looks like mini-pics of Hiroshima. How are there only 4 people dead _so far?_ > > [San Bruno fire photos: Aerial views of neighborhood where explosion and fire killed 4 – The Mercury News](http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_16043066?source=most_emailed) > > There are 48 pics in my link. View them all. Tell me why more people aren’t dead. > > PG&E might have some ‘splainin’ to do. > > . PG&E is so hated right now, this can’t hurt them too much.:mad: They have cadaver and search dogs out, some people are missing. The number could go up. On another sad note, many pets died also. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/3 "2010-09-11T02:04:47Z")
I just heard about it too and was reading the story. How horrible. I’m assuming they mean 4 confirmed dead, and the number will go up. I couldn’t find out at what time the explosion occurred, only that it was last night–does anyone know? If it was 3 am, it will be more people than at 7 pm, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/4 "2010-09-11T02:05:11Z")
Holy fuck. My sister lives in San Bruno! Any idea what the address is? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/5 "2010-09-11T02:12:29Z")
Only 4 people were killed, and according to the San Francisco Chronicle there is no one still missing, so it’s unlikely that any additional bodies will be found. **Darryl Lict** - I hope your sister was not directly impacted. > [@](#): > > The explosion happened at Claremont and Glenview drives, officials and residents said. The city manager said the most devastated streets were the 1600 and 1700 blocks of Claremont Drive, the 900 block of Glenview Drive, the 1700 block of Earl Avenue, the 1100 block of Fairmont Drive and the 2700 block of Concord Way. I looked for a thread this morning and was surprised not to find one. This has certainly dominated the news in the Bay Area. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/6 "2010-09-11T02:15:35Z")
The fire started in the vicinity of Earl Ave. and Glenview Dr., between Sneath and San Bruno Ave. just south of Skyline Dr. [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=115203651140089107127.00048fdfe759741e3afd2&ll=37.627046,-122.437263&spn=0.022467,0.045447&source=embed](http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=115203651140089107127.00048fdfe759741e3afd2&ll=37.627046,-122.437263&spn=0.022467,0.045447&source=embed) A shitload of raw video currently here: [http://cbs5.com/](http://cbs5.com/) I used to live a couple of miles SW of there, on the other side of 380. ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/7 "2010-09-11T02:17:34Z")
15 acres around Crestmoor Canyon, this is less than 30 minutes from where I live. It happened around 5:30pm yesterday, so maybe many people weren’t home from work yet. I’ve heard that as many as 50 homes are just gone, almost 40 people hospitalized with injuries and some very critical condition. If you’re the praying type now is the time. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/8 "2010-09-11T02:21:03Z")
news i heard was 4 death and 2 still unaccounted for. national tv news had people stating they reported gas smell during past week to PG&E. PG&E person said they were checking phone logs to see if there were reports. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/9 "2010-09-11T02:43:50Z")
I doesn’t look like that big a catastrophe to me. From the OP I thought I would be looking at, like, a whole oil refinery had blown up and devastated a whole town. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/10 "2010-09-11T03:59:18Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I doesn’t look like that big a catastrophe to me. From the OP I thought I would be looking at, like, a whole oil refinery had blown up and devastated a whole town. 😕 So if your entire neighborhood burned down, with several people killed, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/11 "2010-09-11T04:12:20Z")
Going on record as saying PG&E stock will be worthless for the foreseeable future. The BP of California. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/12 "2010-09-11T04:51:18Z")
That was just an itty bitty crater you could fill with a few semi- trailers. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/13 "2010-09-11T04:58:28Z")
Did you look at all the photos? There were over three dozen homes completely obliterated. ---
**Author:** ![Sandra\_Battye](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sandra_battye/32/552_2.png) [@Sandra\_Battye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandra_Battye)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/14 "2010-09-11T05:08:19Z")
With the specter of earthquakes in California, agencies are used to working without regard to city boundaries. Doc Gurley has a terrific blog describing the horror facing emergency workers. [Link](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gurley/detail?entry_id=72048&tsp=1) [QUOTE=Doc Gurley] So I just want to ask - as our hearts and thoughts go out to all the families who’ve suffered, can’t we please, also, for the next 24 hours, call it a N.E.W. day? A National Emergency Workers’ Day? Even if they weren’t personally in San Bruno, or in New York for 9-11, how about if we drop a batch of cookies by a station house? How about if we buy a $5 gift card and hand it to a paramedic on break? How about if we take a to-go box of coffee by the Kaiser ER? Because for me, personally, when tragedies like this one strike, I’d rather show a little love and spend my time and energy honoring the best of us, the ones who’ve stepped up and gone beyond what anyone could reasonably expect. Those moments when the system works and quiet heroes emerge. If you feel this way too, share it on Facebook, tweet it to friends, spread it around. [/QUOTE] Thank you, all emergency workers. You do an unimaginable job. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/15 "2010-09-11T05:19:14Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Did you look at all the photos? There were over three dozen homes completely obliterated. What homes? I don’t see any homes. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/16 "2010-09-11T05:30:09Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > [@pravnik](#): > > > > Did you look at all the photos? There were over three dozen homes completely obliterated. > > What homes? I don’t see any homes. Photos 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, etc. You really don’t see that these used to be homes? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/17 "2010-09-11T05:36:05Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > [@pravnik](#): > > > > Did you look at all the photos? There were over three dozen homes completely obliterated. > > What homes? I don’t see any homes. Well, therein lies the problem. Seriously, though, look at photos 10, 26, 33, 36, 38, 43, etc. It may not be a Bhopal sized disaster or anything, but that’s a pretty darn big explosion. If I came home and saw not only my home flattened but almost every other one on the block as well, I’d be pretty freaked out. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/18 "2010-09-11T05:39:12Z")
I’m sorry. I had just got out of a big SDMB chatroom and was still in asshole mode. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/19 "2010-09-11T05:40:44Z")
No worries, I leave that switch on for days before I notice sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363/20 "2010-09-11T07:11:30Z")
They’ve reduced the number of destroyed homes from 53 to I think 35, as they were able to get back in. The initial flame was 7 stories high, and burned like that for over an hour before they got the gas shut off. Pretty horrendous. I live across the Bay, and I could swear that I could smell gas last night. According to the 10 PM news, still 4 dead, but others are still in critical condition. No one reported missing, but they are trying to get a count. I am happy to say that FEMA is going to pay for 75% of the fire fighting/rescue work - California cities don’t have much money to spare these days. Though they should charge PG&E for it. I was pretty impressed with the speed and effectiveness of the response. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-explosion-in-san-bruno-ca-omg/553363.md?page=2)