SoCalGas Shuts Off Service For 135 Homes In Landslide Area

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Natural gas service was shut off on Monday for approximately 135 homes in the Portuguese Bend community due to worsening conditions in the landslide area.

SoCalGas determined it was unsafe to continue to provide services in the area due to the increased risk of gas leaks. According to the city, no gas leaks have been reported and no evacuation orders are in place.

To help impacted residents, SoCalGas provided each account holder with $2,500.

“We know this is difficult for the community, especially given the current uncertainty about future natural gas service and the continued land movement,” said SoCalGas Senior Vice President and Chief Infrastructure Officer, Rodger Schwecke. “We want to help our customers
meet some of their immediate needs, whether that’s laundry or meals, or to help residents with longer term appliance choices.”

City officials, along with SoCalGas technical and operating personnel and the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, are closely monitoring the situation. According to SoCalGas, many efforts have been made over the past several months to continue to safely serve the community.

These efforts include:

• Relocating more than 600 feet of pipeline
• Installing a new isolation valve to quickly shut off the community in case of emergency
• Installing new flexible pipeline joints that can accommodate some land movement
• Accelerated leak inspections throughout the neighborhood

"Unfortunately, the neighborhood continues to experience significant new land movement damaging roads, homes and further threatening the safety of SoCalGas’ infrastructure," SoCalGas said in a statement.

Service was shut off at about 9 a.m. Monday morning and all natural gas remaining in the pipeline network was being removed. Residents may smell natural gas during the process throughout the day.

On Tuesday, technicians with SoCalGas will visit each of the impacted homes to safely turn off natural gas at the meter. Outreach teams will continue to be available in the community at an information booth at the corner of Fruit Tree Road and Narcissa Drive.

The city is prepared to offer disaster relief services to community members, including temporary housing accommodations and individual financial assistance.