A damaged gas line sparked an explosion that leveled a home in a Murrieta neighborhood, leaving at least one person dead and 15 others injured.
The explosion was reported before 12:15 p.m. in the 23500 block of Wooden Horse Trail, where crews initially responded due to a ruptured gas line, Murrieta Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief David Lantzer said.
Crews from Southern California Gas Co. arrived at 11:23 a.m. to begin repair work on the line, but at 12:10 p.m., an explosion occurred, Lantzer said.
The explosion started a fire that burned the home to the ground, blew the windows out of nearby cars and homes and sent shards of glass and chunks of brick across the street.
At an afternoon news conference, SoCalGas officials confirmed that one of the company’s workers was killed in the blast.