Firefighters today had largely contained a raging inferno caused by a thunderous gas pipeline explosion that killed at least four people and destroyed at least 38 homes in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno. With three-quarters of the homes searched by rescue dogs, and the rest too hot to enter, investigators probed the scene for clues on the cause of the blast yesterday evening in the small city near San Francisco International Airport.
The ruptured pipeline belongs to utility Pacific Gas & Electric. Some local politicians and consumer activists are questioning PG&E's response to customer complaint calls warning of natural gas odors in the neighborhood. Others question whether the utility was properly maintaining its infrastructure and equipment. Veronica Faisant filed this report from San Bruno.