Fiber excavation gone wrong caused San Francisco gasline explosion

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating how and why a crew installing fiber-optic cable ruptured a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) gas line in San Francisco that caused an explosion on February 6. Several San Francisco media outlets reported that the explosion was caused by a subcontractor for MasTec, which was hired by Verizon to install fiber-optic cables in the city.

Nobody was injured in the blast, but it damaged or destroyed five buildings, including a popular restaurant, and the fire burned for multiple hours. The NTSB announced on February 6 it “launched a go-team to investigate the excavator-damaged PG&E natural gas main with the release of gas and subsequent ignition that led to fire.”