By Katie Nelson
knelson@mercurynews.com
AUGUST 27, 2015
SANTA CLARA, CA
Two people -- one of whom is a firefighter -- were hurt after a gas explosion Wednesday afternoon rocked a Santa Clara strip mall and caused at least two businesses to go up in flames, officials said.
Just before 4 p.m., Santa Clara police and fire crews received calls that people had heard "two loud explosions" and that a subsequent fire had broken out at the Poinciana Plaza on the corner of Poinciana Drive and White Oak Lane, according to police.
When crews arrived, a laundromat and a liquor store had caught fire. Police said as crews battled the blaze, which crackled and continued to burn for over two hours, they learned that a woman driving an early 90s, two-door, white Honda Accord had hit a gas line, causing the explosion callers heard and then the fire.
Santa Clara firefighters fight a fire in a strip mall at the intersection of White Oak Lane and Poinciana Drive in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. The fire may have been started when a driver hit a gas meter and drove the vehicle away. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group) ( LiPo Ching )
The woman, who ran from her car after she hit the gas line, has not been found, police said.
Two people, one of whom is a firefighter, suffered nonlife threatening injuries at the scene but did have to be taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, police confirmed. Police have blocked off Poinciana Drive up to Lawrence Expressway for fire crews to come in and out of the area quickly. Current delays are reported to be roughly 40 minutes.
PG&E is on scene attempting to cap the gas line, but the fire has so far burned a liquor store as well as a laundromat.
Check back for updates.