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Public Safety

Stores, Restaurant At UTC Mall Evacuated After Gas Line Break

Several businesses and a restaurant at the Westfield UTC Mall were evacuated today after a tractor struck a natural gas line nearby, according to fire officials.

The tractor broke the one-and-a-quarter inch gas service line near the mall on La Jolla Village Drive near Genesee Avenue about 11:50 a.m., although it was unclear how it happened, according to a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department dispatcher and San Diego Gas & Electric.

Six businesses were evacuated, and the county's health department was called to the restaurant, the SDFRD dispatcher said.

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"It is a precaution when there is a gas leak in the area that there may be evacuations in some instances,'' SDG&E spokeswoman Amber Albrecht said.

Two department stores were left without gas, and SDG&E crews de-energized a nearby transformer which caused 10 businesses in the mall to lose electrical power, Albrecht said.

Albrecht said crews were working to make repairs and expected to have the gas leak under control by about 3 p.m., but it was unclear when electrical power will be restored.

KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.