Answers promised: Schwarzenegger tours San Bruno disaster site

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first stop yesterday after returning home from a business trip to Asia was to see the devastation caused by a gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno last Thursday night that left four dead and a significant portion of the Glenview neighborhood destroyed by fire.

He promised the public would gain every detail and piece of information related to the investigation into why a Pacific Gas and Electric gas pipe burst, sending a fireball into the sky that raged for hours. Schwarzenegger assured victims of the disaster and those concerned about the safety of PG&E’s gas delivery system that their questions would be answered.

"I’m back now. You have the right to know. I will make sure you will get every single detail and information,” the governor said.

Schwarzenegger was briefed on the situation by San Bruno’s Police Chief Neil Telford and Fire Chief Dennis Haag along with Matt Bettenhausen, the secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency.

The governor requested President Barack Obama sign a Presidential Disaster Declaration yesterday for the area after 39 homes were completely destroyed by the fire.

Schwarzenegger said he did not cut his trip to Asia short because he trusted the state’s leadership to respond appropriately to the disaster.

He praised both Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado and Bettenhausen for helping to restore calm to the area.

More than 400 firefighters and police officers responded to the blaze, a mutual aid response success, Bettenhausen said.

"My prayers go to the victims and families of this tragedy,” the governor said after making a walking tour of the neighborhood.

Schwarzenegger said the investigation was still too early to lay blame.

"We can’t jump to conclusions. There is lots of speculation. They are going to investigate exactly what happened, whether there was something missing or a weak link so that this never happens again,” Schwarzenegger said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident and sent a 28-foot section of destroyed pipe to Washington, D.C. yesterday for more analysis.

The governor heaped praise on first responders to the disaster and for the quick response by local leaders and volunteers to care for the victims.

The city is in full active recovery mode, Ruane said.

So far, 271 people have been relocated due to the disaster, the mayor said.

The city has been bringing victims of the disaster into the neighborhood to scope the contents of their destroyed homes and secure any valuables.

Ruane praised local firefighters for attacking the firestorm.

"The disaster could have been a lost worse,” Ruane said.

PG&E Company President Chris Johns met with Schwarzenegger and was at the scene yesterday while the governor toured destroyed homes.

The company has pledged $100 million to help restore the neighborhood.

"People want answers,” said Johns, who defended the company’s response to the disaster despite workers not being able to initially close the gas main that fueled the huge fireball. The company will consider installing more remote-controlled valves in its system to shut off the gas in case of emergencies, he said.

PG&E crews had to manually shut off the valve, which was not done for hours after the gas pipe exploded at about 6:20 p.m.

"We turned off the valves as quickly as we could,” Johns said.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by e-mail: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.