Fumes from a broken natural gas line shut down an Otay Mesa thoroughfare for several hours Tuesday and forced some nearby residents to remain indoors as a precaution pending repairs.
A backhoe operator working on a construction project in the 5100 block of Otay Mesa Road accidentally severed the 4-inch-diameter underground pipe about 9 a.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Police and firefighters shut down a stretch of the street and advised occupants of an adjacent apartment complex to stay in their residences while San Diego Gas & Electric repair personnel were en route, fire department spokesperson Lee Swanson said.
No injuries were reported.
"There was a pretty good breeze down there, so the gas pretty much dissipated once it hit the air," Swanson said.
The utility crew got the leak halted by shortly before 11:30 a.m., and all traffic lanes were open soon thereafter.
